The Gift from the Skies
by Mandochk
Summary: When Tracyn Beviin crash landed in middle earth, she had no idea that her life was going to become a lot more complicated than it had before. Her fate, unbeknownst to her, is now tied with the quest to retake The Lonely Mountain - and the dwarf king that would pay her handsome coin to help him do so. Thorin/OC [ON HIATUS/IN REVIEW]
1. The Fall

**Authors Note: I do not own any of the characters created by J.R.R Tolkien. Tracyn is my own character. **

***This Chapter has been revised and edited.***

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_**Chapter One: The Great Fall**_

_'You must be my shooting star... everything I've wished for is everything you are.'_

Shooting stars were a rarity to grace the skies of middle earth. So rare was it to see such things that mothers oft-told their children to make wishes upon them. Surely such magical events could grant any wish that you make! This was far from the truth. A falling star could not grant wishes; it was a stony meteorite falling from the cold recesses of space. It had no sentience to hear such requests with, it just hurtled through space until it crashed with whatever celestial body got in its way. The residents of middle-earth didn't understand the science behind the shooting stars, and thus the believe in the mystical quality of shooting stars remained a stronghold among its human populace.

It was a chilly November night when one such star fell through the sky. however, this particular celestial item was not the typical meteor that granted wishes - it was something else entirely. The bright glaring light that lit up the night sky was caused by atmospheric friction buffeting against the floundering spaceship of one Tracyn Beviin.

The young woman had been involved in a dogfight with a couple of craft belonging to deep space pirates - and now had no choice but to make an emergency landing on the nearest planet. Her ship was beyond repair, and so severely damaged that there was little more she could do. The choice had been taken out of her hands, and all she could do now was crash land as smoothly as she could. That and swear at the pirates that had shot her down.

It didn't even bother her that the planet she was hurtling toward was uncharted. All that she cared about right now was bringing the unstable craft to the ground without killing herself in the process. Crash landings were always difficult things to get right, and she was now getting a terrifying first-hand experience of the fact. The damaged right stabilizers and sputtering engines didn't help her in the slightest when it came to landing the crippled craft smoothly; it took every ounce of her skill to keep the aircraft horizontal to the horizon line. As hard as she struggled against the ship still wanted to list to the right. One of the Ailerons was likely damaged, or one of the spoilers. The issue could have been anything!. Whatever the cause she couldn't correct the tilt of her craft, and the left wing of the aircraft slammed against the brow of a nearby hill.

The whole ship was sent cartwheeling through the air. spraying soil and rocks high into the air as she tumbled along the landscape. Gravity was in control now. There was little that Tracyn could do other than to hold on to the yolk for dear life. Her grip had little with trying to right the craft; it was all about having some focus in the word that spun at a sickening pack past her viewport. For a moment she thought that she was going to be sick, her stomach rebelling as the craft tumbled along. Even while spinning thus she could hear the sounds of the engines, the grating whine, and sputtering engines coming to a halt. All she could hear now was the sound of the ground hitting the outsides of her craft, and she lifted a hand to the top of her cockpit in an attempt to steady herself.

Tracyn was glad she did as the craft spun through the air, then once again made sickening contact with the surface. This time, however, she didn't land on soil, she landed on water which always seemed to touch much harder wise then the land had been. Sprays of seawater were sent high into the air as the craft came to a shuddering halt. Tracyn didn't need the warning sounds coming from the console to tell her that she needed to get out of the craft. She could hear the sound of sea water rushing through the gaping holes in the spaceship, and already there was a slight list that told her that some of the compartments were filling fast. Even now, disoriented as she was, she had the sense to grab her emergency pack from its storage area. The bag felt heavy in the hand, but she knew that she would need it to get through the next few weeks alive - especially as she had no idea how long she would be stuck in this place.

Her fingers wrapped tightly around the leather she pulled out her blaster, one clean shot breaking the viewport and giving her an escape to the outside of the sinking craft. The world around her was a mass of water, and she scanned her surroundings for a moment as she rested atop the craft. The scrolling icons that worked their way on the screen of her hud told her of the breathable atmosphere, the warmth of the climate, and the fact that there was land not that far away from her. She could see the shoreline now that her head wasn't spinning so badly, and Tracyn made a guess that it would take her little more than twenty minutes to cross the span of water between her craft and the beaches.

Some might have balked at the long swim she had to make through the freezing waters. But she didn't, she'd trained since she was a child to survive come what may, and she had learned endurance swims as an essential skill. 'You never know what situation you might find yourself in if you get into a fix - If you can't tread the waters then you'll sink into the pit and never return' those had been the words of her father, words uttered on a cold winter morn on that very first day of swimming lessons. She could still remember the burn of her muscles from the struggle just to stay afloat - a memory that told her how far she had come! This swim was a little different; she often didn't swim in her beskar, and the metal was heavy. Her pack was her saving grace, heavy as it was the pack had enough buoyancy to keep both herself and it above the waves! Even so the swim was a struggle against the strong pull of the tide, she could feel it trying to pull her back out to sea, and it sap her muscles considerably.

Somehow she was eventually able to pull herself to the silty shores of the estuary that she had landed in. One day she would learn that the name of the river that fed the bay was the Brandywine, but at that time, it had been a nameless river on an unknown planet - one that she was now stuck on and very much on her own.

Tracyn didn't mind being alone, in fact, she often times preferred it, but this was one of those occasions where she felt the desire to have someone to share her discomforts with - even if it was just to shout curses at the uncaring sky. Her craft was gone, now in the bottom of the sea, and with it had gone the main bulk of her supplies and her only route off the planet! One lucky thing that she, at least, was happy for was that the planet's air was breathable, she could only imagine how bad things could have been if this world had been uninhabitable. A low huff left her as she pushed herself up from the ground, head tilting back to glance up at the unfamiliar stars in a hopeless attempt at figuring out some form of direction. Normally she would have waited for sunrise to determine her orientation, but the cold was starting to seep through the environmental seals of her suit a sure sign that she needed to get moving.

Tracyn did as common sense would dictate if you didn't know where you were then the best thing to do was to follow a river. At some point, you were sure to come upon signs of civilization, and the aid that such culture was sure to provide - assuming they were friendly that is. Sucking in a deep breath of salty air the young woman pulled her pack onto her shoulder, feeling the weight of the items within as they adjusted to the contours of her body and pulling at shoulder muscles that were not fully rested from the swim. It was a weight that she was sure she would not be able to tolerate for long, but for now, she was comfortable with it and took her first few steps from the beach and toward the lands beyond.

It was the start of a journey that would take her to many areas, a trip in which she would meet many people, and a journey that would lead her toward her soul's mate.


	2. Trials and Tribulations

**Chapter 2: Troubles and Tribulations**

The first few weeks of travel, she found, were very boring. Lush, rolling landscapes dotted the lands for as far as the eye could see, and the gentle sound of the river running past provided a soothing backdrop of music that filled her days from sun up to sun down. Tracyn often found herself thinking of that very first sunrise she had seen, her exhausted body laid upon a small hillock while her eyes rested on the lightening horizon. At first, there had been nothing but soft shades of pink and amber painted across the sky, the colors so faint that she had barely hoped to dream that the struggling sun might follow - but follow it did.

Colors of pink and amber had grown slowly bolder. Each shade was becoming more intense, and with that intensity had come strength as the whole morning sky awakened! Then the sun rose, a glorious burst of light spilling over the horizon and warming her tired body in it's rejuvenating energy. For as long as she lived she would never forget that first sunrise, Tracyn had seen many of them in her lifetime, but there had seemed something special about the rising of the sun on this planet - something almost magical. Tracyn would never make the full admission of such to herself; magic was an unreachable thing that could not be trusted, and yet despite that mistrust, she couldn't help but feel the impressive power of that one sunrise.

Even now, weeks on she still felt that way, each rising sun filling her with a sense of wonder that had long since been missing in her life. It also filled her with a feeling of hope, for with each sunrise had come the sound of drifting birdsong. Each chirping melody belonging to a bird to which she had no name, but the chorus of the song as alien as it was had told her one thing, and that one thing was that this planet was indeed capable of supporting complex organisms!

The first signs of inhabitants of this world came the very next day in the shape of a bridge across the river. The crossing route of the river had a dirt road meandering away from each side of the bridge, and the deep wheel ridges in the soft soil told her that the residents of the lands used the road and bridge on a regular basis. The sight was one that presented a new conundrum, should she wait until someone came along so that she might ask directions to the nearest town or should she pick a direction to go and keep walking?

Both options had merit, the high use of the track told her that it was a high likelihood that someone would use it soon enough, also if the trackway was highly used that meant it was used to transport goods from one place to the next so no matter her direction she would eventually reach a city. A small sound left her throat, one hand adjusting the weight of her pack as she stared down at the trackway as if it would give her the answers she needed. Of course, it didn't it was just a trackway after all, but there was one thing that solved the conundrum for her - the rolling of distant thunder.

Tracyn very much doubted that anyone would set out or travel with such incoming weather, and she wasn't about to wait here in the open either. One last look was given up each direction of the track as if hoping for some other sign, and then she was on the move again - this time heading east and away from the river that had long been her companion for so long. She had heard its song for so long now and knew that she would miss the calming nature of the river once she left it behind her.

In the end, it had turned out the choice she had made was a good one. The road had quickly led her toward a small town huddled between rolling hills and rivers. As excited as she had been to find civilization it now filled her with disappointment and dread. The wooden homes clustered within the protective confines of the thick wooden palisade spoke of people that were not technologically advanced. She would find no means of space travel here, nor would she find any means to dive at the site of her wreck to salvage the gear to send out distress signals, and those two thoughts caused her whole body to sway in the response to the sudden influx of chemicals from her fight or flight response.

There was no way to contact the outside galaxy, nor was there a way of the world - she was stuck here! A small part of her dared to hope that this town was an outpost and that somewhere in the world there was a place of industry where she could find what she needed! She clung to that small flame of hope, after all, many people that came to visit the seedier parts of her homeworld would hardly think them to be such masters of metalworking.

"Come on girl, get it together - you are mando, not some aruetiise."

The sound of her own voice was all she needed to spur her on, the harsh tones mimicking that of one of the many battle-hardened warriors she had met while in her home town's bar. Throwing her shoulders back slightly she approached the city, an approach that was well timed for the first fat drops of rain were already falling from the sky. The sky lit up with a streak of lightning, and the sound of thunder rumbled much closer to her than it had previously.

As she got closer her eyes caught the first sight of the town's residents; their heavy woolen cloaks pulled up around their harsh faces as they bustled to-and-fro through the main gate of the city. Only one of those citizens was constant, a gate watchman she assumed. Not wanting to draw his attention to her arrival, she waited for another group of people to approach the door so as to use them as a cover for her own arrival. Melding in with the group had been easy enough, their slow gait and the worn way they carried themselves was not too much of a challenge for her to mimic, and the watchman barely even gave the group a second glance as them and their plus one drifted into the city.

As Tracyn walked she focused in on the whispered conversations of the city folk, their strange accents sounding just as harsh as their weathered faces. At first, the language seemed foreign, but as she listened closer, she started to hear familiar words - sure a few were still unknown to her due to the town's local dialect, however from what she had heard the people were talking in some kind of basic. The stunned woman didn't even want to think about the odds involved in landing on an uncharted world, for it being inhabited, and for those people to be speaking basic - surely the numbers had to be off the charts!

So stunned was she that she hadn't even noticed that she'd slow to a halt and the group of people she had been keeping pace with where long gone. Tracyn had thought for over a week now, that if she did find people she would have to go through the long process of learning their language. Now, however, she got the unsettling sensation that things were going a little too well. She was glad that talking with the townspeople would not be as difficult as first expected, but there was the voice in the back of her head spitting out warnings that nothing was ever supposed to be easy and that she should be cautious.

It was a voice that had never led her wrong, that sixth warrior sense that no one but a fighter would understand - it was a voice that caused her to push her back into the nearest building and stoop down so as to reach into her pack. The item she wanted was within the first layer of packing, the cold handle belonging to a small knife. Tracyn slipped into her hand quickly and craftily hid the item up her sleeve before also grasping a small block of rations. There was no point in drawing suspicious eyes toward her, as far as the milling people in the town were concerned she was just a traveler reaching into her back for a snack - they didn't need to know that she was now armed. With her pack on her shoulder, chewing on the harsh and tasteless block, she felt a little better.

Certainly comfortable enough that she started to scan the street in search of a place to shelter from the rain, by now it was driving down in force and the residents that had braved the rain before were now rushing into the shelter of nearby buildings. Some of the buildings seemed to be shops, with canopies protecting the windows where their owners sold goods, and others still appeared to be homes belonging to local town folk if their plan facades were anything to go by. There was one building however that caught her attention not by its looks, but by the noise and light spilling from it's partially open doorway - the sounds were once well known to her as belonging to only one building - a tavern! No matter what world you were on a tavern always seemed to be full of bawdy songs and shouting voices!

That bawdy song, however, didn't last long once she had slipped into the bar, each resident seeming to stop his loud conversation once he realized his partner was no longer talking but instead staring at a female stranger. The looks and stares she received told her that she wasn't especially welcome in this place while other states still told her that some of the men's thoughts were hardly innocent. Tracyn was well aware that she was a reasonably attractive woman, with her auburn hair, dark eyes, and slightly tanned skin that even now failed to show the truth of her age.

Even so she was not used to glares like this, the men she was used to would always welcome her to the tavern and look upon her as an equal. The folk in this tavern were looking at her as if she was anything but. Settling her eyes into a glare of her own, a glare that threatened them just to try it, she walked into the depths of the tavern and parked herself at the nearest empty table to take the weight off her feet. She didn't really care that the men didn't want her here; they could think what they liked as long as they didn't try anything untoward.

The one thing that Tracyn didn't want right now was to draw more attention to herself by starting a bar brawl, all she wanted was to rest after her long journey. Heck, even a bit of proper food and drink wouldn't go amiss. Each questioning glance to the serving women, the only welcome kind of woman here it seemed, was either not seen or ignored in favor of a call from one of the male regulars. There would be no service here, but at least, it was warm and dry inside the building, and the men folk had long since turned back to their conversations when they realized she would not be intimidated out of the building.

She, however, was surprised when a plate and tankard were placed down in front of her by an ancient man clad in blue - she certainly hadn't placed an order, and his hearty laugh told her that he had seen the quite startled expression on her face and found amusement in it.

"Eat my dear, it's on me"

The offer didn't make her feel any easier, there was no such thing as free, and as backwater as this place looked she was still sure there were such things as incapacitating drugs that could have been slipped into the food and drink.

Her suspicious glaring of the food earned another deep laugh from the old man as he slipped down into the chair opposite her, the movement drawing a deep sound of relief as the weight was taken from his old body.

"Come now, you wouldn't think an old man like me would poison it would you?"

His kindly smile and raised bushy brows made her feel like a child being scolded by a parent, it was a look that caused her to sit back in her chair somewhat. She hadn't understood all his words, but she'd recognized enough to string together what he had meant, and she found herself crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can never be too careful"

She had thought that he might understand, that he would see the wisdom in it, but no he was laughing heartily again. Tracyn watched as he reached over for a wooden fork, scooped up some of the food from her plate and chewed on it before washing it down with whatever was in the mug. He didn't seem offended in the slightest by her actions. Maybe he dealt with stubborn and paranoid people all the time?

"There my dear, now your fears are appeased, and you may eat."

His words were softly spoken as he allowed himself to sink back into his chair, wizened fingers slipping into his cloak and pulling out a long pipe that he started tapping on the side of the chair to clean out the remnants of his last smoke.

"I am Gandalf the Gray, and once you have eaten there is much to discuss"

Tracyn didn't exactly know what he had to discuss with her, but she was now happy that the food was safe to eat, and she tucked in while she tried to push to the back of her mind that this 'Gandalf' may well want something in exchange for his kindness.

Oh, how correct she would soon find herself to be!


	3. Differences and Wizards

Chapter 3: _Differences and Wizards_

The old man wanted to discuss something with her? She had no idea in the galaxy a total stranger would have to discuss with her! In reality it was the other way around for she wanted to ask him questions on the layout and industry of the planet, not that he knew that either. All through her meal she kept an eye on him, his aged face occasionally lit by the pale amber light of the smouldering tobacco in his pipe. Tracyn had seen a great many old people in her life, for she had accompanied her father to the taverns often and he had a habit of hanging out with his many war veteran friends. However she'd never seen anyone quite this old, mandalorian culture was rough and violent and no one ever lived to of any great age. They certainly never got to be as old as this man seemed to be, she'd never been one to guess anyones ages but the gentleman seemed to be at least a hundred years old. All through the meal he watched her, which was something that she didn't like much, and she eventually plunged the knife he had given her for her food into the table in her frustration. "For mandalores sake, why must you watch me? You never seen anyone eat before?" she kept her voice to a low hiss, body leaning forward over the now empty plate so that she was closer to Gandalf.

She wasn't quite sure what was wrong with the man, for he was neither threatened by her behaviour, and nor did he react in surprise. He just sat their with that patient smile on his lips, and an all knowing look in his eyes that sent a chill down her spine - it was if he knew everything about her and she didn't like that feeling at all. For a moment Gandalf remained quiet, humming lowly under his breath as he took in a slow intake of smoke from his pipe, and letting out a billow of smoke moments later as he leaned toward his unusual companion. "My dear, the valar have been spoken to me of your arrival. I merely wanted to be sure that you could digest our food" It was a sentence that had her choking on her own saliva, the sheer audacity of it taking her completely by surprise.

She'd got the feeling that he'd known something about her, but she had not guessed that he'd gotten that knowledge of a group of people calling themselves the valar! Had these Valar people seen her crash into the ocean? If they had why hadn't they come to help her when she'd pulled herself ashore? Why send this creepy Gandalf person to do their work for them? It made her angry that all this time someone could have helped her and instead left her to fend for herself - sure she could look after herself well enough, but that didn't change the fact that she was pissed that someone could have at least helped her ashore, given her food, and a map to the nearest town.

"These Valar need better manners, you don't just watch someone crash land and then not aid them. What if I had been injured? Their parents obviously did not teach them very well in such matters" Oh great, now he was laughing at her, a low and husky sound that gave the impression that he'd never laughed so much before having met her. She wasn't even sure what was so damned funny about her comment, this was a serious matter after all and needed to be addressed - all he needed to do was take her to see the clan leader of the valar so she might bring her complaint to them, that or take her complaint to them personally. Crossing her arms over her chest the young woman fixed Gandalf with a cold stare, lips settling into a disapproving line as she pressed her back against the back of her chair. "I don't see what is so funny, how can they not learned such basic lessons? I must bring such matters to the clan so that they can be addressed so that next time they can help someone like me" her arms lifted as she spoke, hands pressing to her chest so as to press the point home, but Gandalf still wasn't getting it in the slightest. In fact he was shaking his head slowly with a somewhat sad expression on his features now that the mirth was gone, it was a look she'd seen only once before - and that time it had been on her father's face as he tried to explain to his young daughter that her pet could not be brought back from the dead. It was a look of ill omens and of regret for having to break terrible news and she almost wished she could have the laughing Gandalf back.

"It is not possible to do such things. The Valar reside in a realm removed from this world and thus cannot be reached by mortal beings" This time in was her turn to chuckle, her hands lifting off her chest and moving to rest on the table in front of her. "So they are gods? And the gods speak to you? You must be mental" Tracyn shook her head, but still the matter pricked at the back of her mind that even if he was crazy how had he known of her arrival? Had he been stalking her since her crash landing? That was all she needed, a crazy stalker man that thought the gods had talked to him about her. She watched as his shoulders shrugged ever so slightly, as if the matter was more complicated than her response. "I suppose you could say that, and in a way they do talk to me - when the situation dictates it, and trust me a being arriving on our planet from another world does dictate such a thing. I am a Istari, a wizard, and sent to this world to right great wrongs - however we have not the time to discuss the history of middle earth." he inhaled once again, sucking intently on his pipe as if it supplied all the sustenance he needed.

Tracyn herself was still talking it all in. Valar, Wizards, Middle Earth, it was all a bit too much information at once and she was almost glad that he did not delve deeper into the history of the world she had found herself stuck in. Part of her still hoped that Gandalf was a crazy old man, and that he was making this all up in his delusion - but no, his eyes held no craziness and nor did they hold lies. As much as she didn't want to believe it, his explanation was an accurate one and she allowed her head to fall forward into the palms of her hands. "Now, you talked of manners earlier, and have yet to tell me your name" his soft voice drew her attention, and she lifted her head from her palms to look once more upon his face.

"Tracyn, of clan Beviin." It was a very belated introduction she guessed, but it was better late then never. "Now this has been very interesting so far, but you've yet to tell me useful information. Seeing as you know of my origins, you would know of my need to find a center of industry where I can build a new craft and salvage the old one" Tracyn wanted to get to the point, Gandalf was right in that they didn't have time - well see had all the time in the world really, but he on the other hand probably had wizardly things to do. What wizards did she didn't know, perhaps they were like Jedi? Doing that mystic mumbo jumbo and causing chaos wherever they went. She didn't trust things she couldn't see, the use of the force being one of those, but she felt she could trust Gandalf despite his confession of being a wizard. Again he had that look on his face, that look that said he was about to break bad news to her - news she would not like in the slightest. "Industry? There is no industry in this world advanced enough to send you back whence you came - I am sorry to tell you that you are stuck here"

Stuck Here - those two words swirled around her mind at a mile a minute. She was stuck her, an eventuality she hoped she would have never seen, and she found herself shaking from the shock of hearing those words spoken aloud. She had no way to build a new craft, no way to salvage her old one from the sea, and most of all no way to get down deep enough to pull out the parts needed to send out further distress signals. Strong swimmer she may be, but she couldn't get around the biology of the fact that she couldn't dive to the depths needed without specialist equipment. Gandalf's expression said that he wished he had better news to tell her, his pipe brushing against his lower lip as he examined the young woman that suddenly had no idea what she was going to do next. "Such things happen for a reason however. You were supposed to find your way here, and will affect a great many things" A dry laugh left her, fate was not something she believed in - no one was fated to do anything.

Tracyn guided her own fate, made her own choices, and the idea that something beyond your control guided your life was just damned ridiculous. "Supposed to find my way here, no, I was supposed to 'finding' my way to Alderaan" She could tell that the name had no meaning to him, which was no surprise to her and she wasn't expecting the wizard to recognise it, but she could tell that he at least understood that she didn't believe that she had been 'shot down' on this planet for a reason. He hummed and sat back in his seat "Very well, believe what you may. However there will come a day when we are in need of your skills, and you will be wise to answer that call" his tone was final and she didn't push the matter further for she was sure if she did Gandalf would just say something else crazy. "What makes you so sure that I will answer, I have no loyalties to this place and care not what happens to it" She kept her tone cold, wanting to let this Gandalf fellow know that she wasn't going to be answering any call to provide service to the planet.

He smiled, that mysterious smile of his, and pushed himself to his feet. "For the right price, I believe you would" A long finger tapped the side of this nose, and then her vanished into the busy throng of the bar, leaving her with her mouth open. As shallow as his observation might sound to those listening in, it was painfully close to the mark - she might very well have no loyalty to anyone here, but for the right price she certainly would take a job. If she was going to be stuck her then she would have to earn money, sure she did have a few coins in one of the compartments in her belt, but credits wouldn't get her very far in this planet. Sighing deeply she pushed her hand through her hair and trailed her eyes to the table. The knife she had plunged into it was still there, however it was now accompanied by a rolled up piece of parchment. Tracyn hadn't even known when it was placed there, but she guessed that Gandalf had put it there at some point in the conversation - as crazy as their talk had been he at least had provided some help to her. He had fed her, he had watered her, and now he'd given her the ability to find her way around in the word. As for her, well she hadn't even thanked him for his help! She'd been too focused on what he had to say, and too focused on the insanity of it all - fated to be here her arse. The wizard, if he wasn't some kind of Jedi, would damned well fit in with them with all this talking to gods and fate nonsense.

Reaching for her tankard she drowned the whole lot in one go, drawing the speculative gaze of some of the near by men. She wasn't sure what the drink was, but it tasted nice and the distinctive smell told her it was some kind of hops based alcohol. The light buzz of the drink was soon making it's presence known, it was a pleasant sensation that replaced the anxiety that had once been there. Now feeling calm she spread the parchment over the table to examine the map further, wondering where she might go next in the world - and if she did go elsewhere in the world would more answers to her predicament follow? Surely there were other people then this Gandalf fellow to get advice from, this was a big world and even if it wasn't technologically advanced there must be someone that could help her. How they could help she wasn't sure, but she had to try at the very least! She wouldn't let herself fully accept that she would never get off this 'middle earth', despite Gandalf's words. and if there was wizards here there had to someone around with the power to get her ship out of the ocean. Tracing a finger over the map she pondered over the place names, picking out settlements that looked likely candidates for her search, and only once she was done did she vacate her chair and leave the tavern. By this time the rain had stopped, though the evidence of it's presence remained in the large puddles on the muddy road, and she wondered why it was that the town hadn't invested in proper road infrastructure. Surely they had enough wealth for a decent road? As she mused on the question she pulled her meager jacket around her, let out a breath, and turned to follow the main road out of the city and into the wilds beyond.

Bree would be a regular port of call for her in the weeks that followed. Tracyn could have gone further afield in search of answers, but she didn't. Instead she traveled to the nearest settlements to the river town, and inevitably returned once her business had concluded. Of all the cities she traveled to in that time it was Rivendell that was the most mysterious, for she had tried to go there a couple of times in an effort to talk to it's residents. The first time she had gotten lost and it had taken her many hours to backtrack to the road that lead to Bree. The second time she had tried to go there she had been turned away at it's borders by one of it's guards, a being whose celestial like appearance had caught her off guard for she had never seen anything the like of him before. As ethereally handsome as the man had been she would never forget that she had been turned away, and worst off she didn't quite understand why - the male had told her the valley was closed off to anyone but elves, which made little sense to her as she had heard that the city had played host to a variety of humans in the past, and still did if rumor in the Prancing Pony was anything to go by. Part of her wondered if it was something to do with her? Had it's lord, Elrond, heard of her arrival and judge that he wanted no part in helping her? She had done nothing personally to warrant such barring if that was the case. As much as she wanted to visit the city and it's vast library of knowledge, she at least respected that regardless of the reasons behind it the orders of the lord of the city had to be obeyed - She would not be visiting Rivendell anytime in the near future.

And thus did the years pass, with her visiting far flung cities in search of a way to get off the world, and in each place she found that Gandalf's observation of the situation to be true. She really was stuck on this world, stuck with no hope of leaving it of her own volition - her only hope of leaving was to be picked up by passing space traffic, which seemed not at all possible for she herself had gone off route in an effort to avoid both traffic and pirates. This uncharted planet would not be visited on purpose, it was small, out of the way, and off the beaten path when it came to hyperspace routes - with all this in mind the woman slowly came to the acceptance that this world was her home now. As much as she hated herself for coming to that admission, it was never the less one she would eventually have to make if she were to really survive in this place.

Middle Bloody Earth was her home, and Bree as small as it was had become her base of operations. While she may not at have lived in the town on a permanent basis, it was still a place to come and stock up, rest, and catch up on the local news. It was also the only place in middle earth where she felt the least homesick, for it very much reminded her of the nearest settlement to her home back on mandalore. She might even say that she was comfortable in her lifestyle, even if the men folk still didn't fully accept her into the town - and she doubted they ever would. Women in this world didn't travel alone, didn't wear pants, didn't swear and drink, and they certainly didn't carry weaponry. No, women in this world did as the men told them, cooked the meals, and cared for the children. It was for these reasons that the men of Bree treated her with great suspicion, and it was for these reasons that she lived on the very edge of that human society.

A human society that she would soon leave behind for good, though she would have hardly known that such a thing would happen at the time. She certainly wouldn't have thought that it would be Gandalf that would drag her away from her semi-comfortable life in the wild lands of Bree!

* * *

**This chapter was the hardest to write, hopefully it reads smoothly as I had to rewrite some parts several times for it to make sense in my head. **


	4. Summons and Contracts

**Chapter 4: Summons and Contracts**

Crisp parchment crackled under her fingers as the letter was held shakily in front of her. Black ink standing out from the page in stark contrast to the pale hide that they were written upon, the graceful flow of the letters masking their content and only fueling the reader's anger. Tracyn had received the letter some days earlier, delivered by a rather unwilling man on horseback whom was the area's 'postman' of sorts - though he always seemed to have the look of someone that wished he was doing something else if you asked her. The letter had been a rather surprising thing for her to receive, although she had been on the planet for three years now she still had very little in the way of friends, and knew no one that would actively write to her. Slim fingers had broken the wax seal of the envelope, the hard wax giving a satisfying snap as it broke in two and allowed her into the contents that it had sealed within. As ancient as the method was in relation to how messages were sent to the galaxy center, there was something rather satisfying about opening a physical letter like this and seeing someone's writing on physical paper rather than a holo screen.

As she read the letter a frown of disapproval crossed over her features, for the flowing text of the letter belonged to Gandalf. She'd thought the old man long out of her life by now, certainly he hadn't attempted contact since that night in the prancing pony all those years ago, and to be frank she'd hoped the old fool had forgotten all about her! But seemingly he had not forgotten her and was asking her to partake in an adventure that he was currently planning. At that request she had balked, arms pulling the letter away from her body so that she could further glare at the paper as if it was a dirty handkerchief given to her by a child. Hadn't she told Gandalf that she wanted nothing to do with adventures? Hadn't she told him quite firmly that she had no reason to serve anyone in a world that was not her own?

Clearly that had not sunk into the man's thick head for here she was, holding a letter that was asking her to stay true to her destiny ... how sickening. Yet read on she did, her eyes being drawn to one word out of all the others - treasure. If she were to answer his letter and become one of a number of fifteen people total to retake a mountain, then she would be entitled to one-fifteenth of the treasure as a reward. Normally such a small share would not interest her so much, after all sharing a paltry treasure between fifteen people always meant the stake was not worth the effort involved, but she had heard stories of the immeasurable wealth of the dwarven kingdom of Erebor - this was the one rare case where one-fifteenth share would be enough to make this whole quest worth going on.

"For the right price, I believe you would"

The remembrance of what Gandalf had said in the last meeting made her scowl. He had called her bluff, pulling on her one weakness as an example of why she would help, and she'd hated that he had been right then and still was now. The lure of a huge reward had always spurred her into action, from large bounties to sizeable bribes, the irrefutable fact remained that she wouldn't do something unless there was good coin in it for her. There was also the fact that going on this one quest would set her up for life in this world, so far the jobs she had taken on in this word had not paid her well - a mixture of men not wanting to pay her well due to her being a female, and the other reason being the employer giving her such menial tasks that she wouldn't have gotten many coins regardless.

One fifteenth of a huge treasure would pay her way in this world and allow her to live a more comfortable life - if she were to be stuck here then she might as well make herself comfortable! Resolved to go on this grand adventure of Gandalf's she pulled out a second parchment, revealing an immaculately hand-drawn map and a host of instructions of where she was to go if she did indeed agree to take part. By Gandalf's instructions, she gathered that she was to travel to a small settlement named Hobbiton for a night not more than a week from now and find the hobbit hole with his mark scratched upon the door. There she would meet the rest of the company, and more of the quest would be explained once all had gathered at the home. Why this company was gathering in Hobbiton she didn't know, for surely a gathering of non-hobbits in a hobbit village was sure to gain a lot of attention, but by now she knew well enough that Gandalf played by his own rules and probably had reason for having the meeting in such a place.

Turning her head skyward she watched one of the many species of birds glided past high in the air, it's warbling song heralding the end of the dawn chorus and the start of the day proper. Tracyn however had no time to admire the bird's song, nor it's bright plumage, for if she were to get to the assigned hobbit hole for the appointed hour then she had to start travelling now. Having set up camp in the weather hills meant a long travel to skirt around the midgewater, and then a further detour to pick up the great east road once she was through the chetwoods. From there it would be easy sailing, for the road would take her all the way to Hobbiton, and hopefully it would be as easy to find the correct hobbit hole as Gandalf had suggested.

Wrapping her cloak around her body and picking her pack up from the ground the woman set off. The lightness of the pack on her shoulder was a physical reminder of just how little she carried around these days. Some of the items she had one carried she had buried deep in the ground, with only an old lightning scarred tree to mark the spot where the items lay hidden. Sealed in a foil bag she had placed her comlinks, holo pad, and disassembled blaster. Various other non-essential items had followed, but she little remembered what those had been. She more easily remembered the things she had hidden so that the world would not suffer from their presence, not that she thought that this world had the technology to build them, but she thought it best to hide them never the less.

Tracyn hoped that one day she would have cause to retrieve them items, but she had the distinct feeling that the items would remain buried long after she herself was committed to the ground. These days the only things from her world that she carried was the beskad sheathed at her left hip, the various plates of her beskar armour now clasped upon her person, and her utility belt full of various survival items ranging from small lengths of wire to the two precious syringes of bacta. She found it hard to believe that she had managed to swim to shore with the pack with as heavy as it had been, the various air pockets trapped in the fabric and more buoyant items held within the pack must have made up enough difference in the weight for the pack to have barely floated. The only items carried in her pack these days was parcels of cured meats, bread, and chunks of cheese that didn't seem like much in comparison to the warm meals found at the prancing pony. When you were on the road however you carried the only things that would last without the chill of an ice house to preserve their quality.

Of course, that's not to say she didn't eat anything else beyond that, the wilds around Bree where a wonderland of wild beasts and edible plants with which she enriched her diet. The small wires in her belt had often come in handy to set up traps in which to catch rabbits, and she'd often used her small eating knife to dig into the bark of trees to retrieve protein-rich grubs, there was even the very rare occasion when she had found a hive of bees deep within an open crevice of a tree and had used a smoking fire to calm the bees long enough to sample their rich honey. Her travels in the open wilderness of Arnor was no different to those times in the past, and the days blended into one another as she made her way around the boggy grounds of the midgewater. Skirting the swamp was easily the toughest part of her journey, for while she chose to skirt the swamp and steer clear of the boggy terrain, she was still terribly plagued by the midges that gave the area its name.

It was soon revealed to her that the midges didn't just stick to the watery areas, even going so far as to travel quite a distance to find a meal - which in today's case was herself. The constant vibrating buzz of insect wings was an irritant that had her on a knife edge, and after the first few stinging bites she had reluctantly used some of her precious drinking water to dampen up some soil to make a mud pack to protect her exposed skin. While it stopped the midges from biting her, it didn't stop the fact that they continued to insist on following her anyway! They were drawn by her warmth and the distinct chemicals that her body gave off, the two things together signalling a meal even if they couldn't get to that meal. The midges remained with her for some miles beyond the marsh, then slowly they peeled away into the wilderness in search of an easier meal. It was a loss that was at first worrying for her, she'd grown used to the constant insect buzz over the last few days, and the loss of the white noise set her whole body on edge. Paranoia of being hunted by an unseen force stalked her the hours after the loss of the midges and only faded after she stepped into the comforting cover of the Chetwood.

With the most annoying part of the journey behind her, Tracyn started to enjoy herself a bit more. She even stopped for a few hours under the shady boughs of the trees, enjoying the taste of the few local mushrooms that she knew to be non-poisonous. The earthy taste of the fungi coupled with the smoky taste of the dried meat in her pack and proved to be a glorious meal indeed, fueling her for the journey through the quiet forest and into the lands beyond. With the crossroads of the old north road and great east road in front of her, she knew that her journey was now half way complete, and in good time too! In fact, she was even daring to wager that she was ahead of schedule. With this realisation in mind she allowed herself a more leisurely pace, eyes taking in the sights around her - sights she had seen many a time as the great east road was now a familiar route through Arnor by now.

As familiar as they were it didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy them, from the great grassy plains to the lush green trees of the old forest that grew along the banks of the brandywine. Three years on she now knew why she constantly returned to this part of middle earth, she returned because this particular area reminded her of home. Sure there were key differences in the technology, and the culture of the peoples that called this place home, but the similarities in landscape had softened the blow of homesickness in that very first year. Travelling along the road would take a further two days, two days where she wondered what the other fourteen people on this quest would be like, and what she would do to Gandalf when she finally saw him again! All her ideas sounded all so delightful, from the long lecture on not being bound to this stupid fate he seemed to think she had, to giving him a good punch for just being an annoyance in her life. Both plans went to pot however as the green scenery and gentle glow of setting sun stole all the fight out of her - she had finally reached the Shire and what a lovely place it was indeed.

With the sun sinking down low over the horizon, painting the darkening sky in vivid reds, the Shire looked to be like one of those landscapes from one of those fancy watercolors that took pride of place in museums. It was an innocent land of farmers, a land that had not seen the troubles of the world, and a land that made her feel much taller than she actually was! Everything here seemed small in comparison to the houses that she was used to in Bree, and she suspected that the inhabitants of the village where a full foot shorter than the race of humans. Walking along the pathway she began to wonder just how long it would take to find the house where the meeting was to occur, the settlement wasn't too highly populated, but the distances between the groups of houses meant that she spent more time than she would have liked. It was in the last group of houses that Tracyn finally saw what she was looking for, a round green door set into the hillside with a glowing blue symbol upon it, a symbol that she recognised as belonging to Gandalf.

Judging by the sounds coming from beyond the door she was not the first to arrive, which was embarrassing as she had thought that she was ahead of time not that long ago, and she wasted no more time by promptly knocking upon the door. The sound of her knocking halted the commotion within, and the tones of a small voice complaining about more company soon reached her ears in a prelude to the door opening. As the round door opened a small man was revealed to her, his child-like face screwed into a look of irritation that quickly changed when he noticed the feminine nature of his newest guest "P..p..please, come in. Make yourself at home" his nervous and stammering voice was at odds with his childlike features, for the voice belonged to that of an adult man rather than the pre-pubescent that she had at first thought she was dealing with. Nodding her head she stepped into the house, and carefully hung her cloak on a nearby hook.

The stack of cloaks and weapons already in the entryway told her she was later than she had thought, for twelve cloaks hung on various hooks and chairs in the hallway. With her cloak hung up, the woman slipped further into the house, ignoring the small man's complaints that she should leave her weapon in the hallway too. Tracyn didn't go anywhere without her beskad, and she wasn't going to start now - especially while in a stranger's house! Of course that wasn't the only thing that the small man was complaining about, for once he realised she wasn't going to leave her sword he soon switched to complaining that her boots were trailing in mud and that he was going to be eaten out of house and home.

Clearly this male was very house proud, and she wondered why Gandalf picked this residence of all places to gather together a company - so far it's owner had not been the best of hosts! Shaking her head, she followed the distinctive scent of pipe smoke, and the low sounds of chatter that was coming from one of the larger rooms. That room it turned out was a small dining room, and it was completely full of bearded men that were barely bigger than the man that had greeted her in the doorway. She ignored their incredulous looks, and cries of protest at a strange woman turning up for their gathering, and instead focused on the tallest man in the room - Gandalf. To say the old man looked happy to see her was an understatement, his eyes literally glowed with delight and his broad smile was clear to see even under his bushy beard. "You came" his simple comment was returned with a glare, one that threatened him to say 'I knew you would', but he didn't say the words despite his eyes saying he had planned to do so.

"I am beginning to wish I had not, your company do not seem best pleased to see me - surely you told them I was coming?" As she spoke she rested her hands on her hips, her eyes roaming around the room so that she could look at each of the bearded men - all of whom seemed to want to ask why she was here. The guilty and somewhat playful expression on the wizards face told her what she needed to know, he had not told the group she was coming. "Well, I might had forgotten to mention to them that there was an additional member of their group, and they would be wise to have you come along - your skills will be much needed" the wizard's words caused the group to erupt once more, and among the chaos she could hear complaints that they didn't need the skills of a woman, for they knew how to cook their own meals while on the road. It was a poignant reminder of the place of women in this world, and she tried to pick out which of the bearded men had made the comment - something she gave up on in the end for there were so many voices shouting out from various sides of the table. Running a hand through her hair she sunk down into a chair that her host had pulled up for her at some point, her legs stretching out in front of her as she watched Gandalf trying to control the chaos.

Everything came to a halt as another knock echoed from the doorway, and the small male host reluctantly went to answer it. When he returned he was in the company of another male, a male that drew Tracyn's eye due to the handsome lines of his facial features. She'd never really been attracted to a man before, too busy with her career to even look at a man, but now with her old career behind her she took the time to examine the new arrival. By estimates, he was only two inches taller than herself, and for his height he was very muscular - a sure sign that he knew his way around a sword. His long black hair fell around his face in slight waves, with a few braids noticeable within the locks, but more noticeable where the tangles in his locks which showed lack of care due to a long trek through the wilds. Peppered through his hair there were a few streaks of silvered-gray, a sign that this male was entering into the later stages of his life but not yet fully past his prime. Stormy grey eyes looked out at her from underneath a pair of thick eyebrows, and unlike most of the others in this room his beard was short and carefully trimmed.

The intensity of her examination of his appearance seemed to be matched by his, those stormy eyes looking up and down her while the corners of his lips twitched in a slight sigh of irritation. It was an expression that only grew as the dark haired male turned to look at Gandalf, his deep baritone voice filling the room as he spoke "When you said you were putting together this company, I did not expect you to be signing up a hobbit and women. I trust they are the burglar and warrior you have been talking of?." It seemed that this male was the only one that knew of her arrival, though he clearly hadn't been told to expect a woman or a hobbit. Gandalf leaned forward so that he leaned upon his staff, eyes twinkling in the candlelight "Would you have accepted them upon this quest if I had told you of their nature? Hardly, and the reactions of your men showed I had a right to hide such matters. Bilbo Baggins is our burglar and Tracyn Beviin our additional warrior, you will be glad to have them in our company Thorin Oakenshield" Thorin looked over the pair once more, first to Bilbo, whom she now knew to be their host, and then to Tracyn.

He let out a breath and a noise that sounded somewhat like disbelief "What weapons do you use? Do you favour the sword or the axe?" it was a question that caused bilbo to balk "well I am quite good at conkers" Tracyn wasn't quite sure what conkers was, but she didn't think it was a fighting style. She herself moved to pat the beskad by her side in a fond manner, she knew that none of the people here knew what it was, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from mentioning it "Neither, I use a variety of weapons. Primarily the beskad" she smiled, and turned with a scowl as she heard a snort from one of the older dwarves of the group "It looks like a kitchen knife, you should go back to preparing your man's meal."

Tracyn guessed that it didn't look like much of a weapon, at forty-five centimetres long the beskad would look more like a dagger in comparison to most weapons here. Pulling the blade from it's home the woman lets the group examine the weapon, but they still did not seem impressed with it, instead a couple of them turned their attention to the hobbit as if they thought it a better weapon for him then for her. "Make no mistake it's no kitchen knife, it's weight makes it a formidable weapon. Perhaps you would like a demonstration" She was about to get to her feet when she felt a shift in the atmosphere around her, the room darkening and wood creaking in slight protest as Gandalf got to his feet "That is enough, if I say that Bilbo is a burglar, and Tracyn a fighter, then a burglar and fighter they are" with the point made the wizard settled back into his chair, and nothing more was said on the matter.

Still fuming at the sexist nature of this world Tracyn settled back in her chair, settling for ignoring the looks that were still being shot at her and Bilbo. Regardless of the wizards words they still doubted that the pair where as described, and while she knew she could live up to the wizards description she wasn't so sure about Bilbo. The hobbit looked like he was more of a librarian than a burglar! Back in his chair the now calmer wizard looked around the room and nodded his head "Now, I think it is time for introductions, and then we can get on with discussing the topic we have gathered to talk about." his pipe now in hand he pointed to each member of the company in turn, the long stem of the pipe from person to person as he talked.

"Tracyn and Bilbo may I introduce to you Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Balin, Dwalin, Ori, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and lastly Thorin Oakenshield the leader of this company" he turned toward Tracyn and grinned "they are the dwarves of Erebor" the way he said that told her that he had mentioned their race purely for her benefit. In her travels, she had only met fellow humans before, and thus it was comforting to know why this group looked so vastly different to the humans. With the Dwarves introduced he then reached into his cloak and pulled out a rolled up and aged parchment that he rolled out upon the table, and whereupon the whole group leaned in to get a closer look at the map. The map was a simple enough thing with writing in a few places in the common tongue, a column of runes along one side, and a few landmarks.

Right in the top left-hand corner was the lonely mountain, the destination of their quest and the place where she would get her payment upon completion of the quest. It was the mention of a dragon that drew her attention away from the map, and while she wasn't bothered by the description of the beast, she could see that it had upset Bilbo. The poor hobbit was looking over a parchment that she assumed was his contract and was pacing in the corridor in a nervous manner - next thing she knew he had fainted. Shaking her head she turned to Balin who was hesitantly holding out her contract "You can walk away from this now miss, we will be fine without you I can assure you of that".

While she appreciated his concern, she didn't want it, and quickly snatched the parchment from his hand so that she could sign at the bottom of the sheet. "I am not afraid of no dragon, there are bigger and nastier things out there" she didn't elaborate on the matter and handed Balin back the parchment so that he could examine her sprawling signature before giving his nod of approval before slipping the contract into his pack. As for Bilbo, the Wizard had moved him to another room where they could talk more privately though not in hushed enough tones for her to miss the fact that Bilbo was not going to be joining them.

The group was down a burglar - but she was not concerned. She'd stolen things from people before, and was sure she could fill in the gap left by the hobbit. Settling her body down by the fire she listened to the soft singing of the dwarves, and slowly allowed herself to slip into a light doze.


	5. Into the Wilderness

**Sorry to have kept you waiting readers, I had a busy couple of weeks and couldn't get anything posted. Hope you like the chapter! Also feel free to leave reviews, I want to know what you think. Would you like longer chapters? Shorter? Is there something that I can improve on? Feel free to share, I won't bite I promise.**

**Chapter 5, Into the Wilderness**

She wasn't sure when that dose had become a deep sleep. The distinction between just resting your eyes and slipping into R.E.M sleep was but a thin and very muddled line. Never the less sleep had claimed her that night and dreams had come with it - dreams that she didn't much appreciate for they had featured the dark haired leader of their group. Tracyn didn't know why she dreamed of the male, people very rarely featured in the few dreams she had, and when they did invade her dreams they certainly were not kissing her! So vivid was the dream that she swore that she could still feel the dwarf's lips lingering on her own when she was shaken out of her sleep by Dori.

The white-haired dwarf gave her a gentle smile, seeming quite sad to have awoken her from her sleep as he whispered to her "I am sorry miss Tracyn, but we will be leaving shortly." Giving the apologetic dwarf a nod, one arm moving to push herself up out of the chair that she had fallen asleep in. Her impromptu bed had not been kind on her back, at some point she must have slumped slightly into the chair and the poor posture had lead to an uncomfortable ache in her back - especially the lumbar region. Stretching the muscles removed some of the tension, but not all of it and she found herself not looking forward to the next few hours for she knew the discomfort would follow her for a few hours now. Grumbling to herself she followed the smell of cooking food into the dining room and helped herself to the small breakfast that had been cooked.

It might have been a few sausages, a wedge of cheese and some bread - but there was not much food left from the previous night's feasting, and she was glad to be getting something to eat - even if it was only a small plate of food. The quiet hush of the room around her was interrupted by the occasional 'krkk' of knives dragging over the pottery plates as her companions ate. Normally such a meal would be alive with conversation, but there was none at this breakfast for the dwarfs ate in silence.

Tracyn supposed that they didn't want to wake their still sleeping host, and she felt almost bad that they would be leaving the home without thanking the hobbit for his reluctant hospitality. With breakfast finished she watched the dwarves put away the utensils before joining the waiting Gandalf outside, while they had been eating the wizard had obviously been busy. A host of ponies and two horses waited outside the home of bilbo, and Tracyn found herself casting a suspicious eye over the horse that was meant for herself.

She'd never ridden a horse before, which was somewhat embarrassing when you consider that she'd spent a few years in middle earth by now. Learning to ride had just never crossed her mind, before crash landing she had never needed to ride any creature for she could use any speeder bike she wanted to cover great distances of land, and after the crash she'd settled for walking the many leagues of land that surrounded Bree - learning every intricate detail of the land.

Now it seemed she was to get a baptism of fire, and she wasn't pleased that Gandalf was going to be forcing the skill upon her in such a manner! She was sure to embarrass herself multiple times before the end of the day, and her poor horseman skills would just entrench the idea that she was a useless woman with no place on this quest. Standing at around 14.5 hands the horse was a well-built creature, with stocky muscles and a gleaming roan coloration that showed that the horse must be well cared for by its owner. As nice as it looked the horse didn't seem to like her much, she guessed it must have sensed that she was nervous and thus a newbie when it came to riding, for it moved around in an agitated fashion as she tried to pull herself up into the saddle - not to mention she could have sworn she saw the mare turning its head in an attempt to bite her!

Eventually, she managed to pull herself up in the saddle, hands holding awkwardly to the reigns and keeping a firm grip on them purely because she didn't know what to do. Piloting a spaceship was very different to guiding a sentient animal, an animal that could do whatever it wanted should the whim take it to do so. Everyone else seemed comfortable on the horses, saddling up with an ease that made her feel both jealous and embarrassed all at the same time. As the rest of the company set off her own horse fell into rank, not that she told it to do so with any movement of the reigns - perhaps the horse felt that following it's equine companions was better than allowing her to guide it. Tracyn was perfectly fine with that, letting enough slack in the reigns that the horse could do as it wished, but firm enough to let her feel like she had some element of control over the beast. Mostly she just wanted to look like she knew what she was doing, and while she might have fooled the dwarves she certainly didn't fool Gandalf.

She could see the all knowing look in his eyes. That gleam that said he could see deep within her and see all her secrets, and it pissed her off no end. Three years had not changed her feelings that he must be some kind of Jedi, how else could he know so much and seem to know things about people that they did not tell him.

All around her she could hear the soft chatter of the dwarves, some talking about the road ahead and the route they would be taking, while others talked about the hobbit that had been left behind. It seemed that members of the group thought that he might join them yet, and a flurry of betting soon took over the group that Thorin kept himself well out of. She almost jumped when Kili addressed her from her right side. "What about you? Care to place a bet m'lady?" the mischievous glint in his eyes and the smile on his face was almost contagious, how could he be in any way related to the grumpy Thorin? Any reply she was about to give was cut off by the voice of the grumpy leader himself. "Leave the lady be Kili, betting is not the pursuit of women and you will well remember that" his gruff tone stole the grin from the younger man's face, and Tracyn fixed the man with a scowl - not because Kili was upset, but because of the whole 'ladies can't do this or that' culture that seemed to pervade every man in the world.

Once the leader had turned his back she turned to look at Kili, lips pursed in a thin line, and only the slight quirk that graced the corner of her mouth gave her away. "A hundred gold that the hobbit will join our little company" Tracyn didn't even keep the bet in a whisper, let Thorin disapprove if he wanted! He couldn't tell her what to do, nor could anyone else in this world either. Kili didn't seem to disapprove of her betting, in fact, he was giving her a wide smile that was followed with a wink, and she was sure that Thorin was scowling at her from the head of the company - he certainly wasn't keeping his disapproval quiet as she could hear him grumbling about the waste of money, for the hobbit surely would be staying in his hole.

Another hour passed in relative peace, and even Thorin had stopped his grumbling - though Tracyn could still feel his eyes upon her every now and then. Sometimes he looked at her with disapproval, other times he looked upon her with obvious concern, and other times there was an expression that she couldn't quite read upon his regal features. It was a misty far away look that told her he was seeing something far away, it was a look that she had often seen on children's faces when they were far away in daydreams. Regardless of the reason for the expression he would quickly shake himself out of it, fix her with a scowl and growl under his breath. It was on one such occasion that Kili returned to ride beside her, his young face still fixed with a smile - a smile she was quite sure never left his face. He was quiet for a moment, then he uttered five words that she didn't want to hear "I think he likes you". Tracyn turned on him quickly, cheeks flushed and features fixed in a thunderous scowl.

"You must be insane" Her words were spoken in a hushed and a rather guttural whisper. Normally such actions would get the other person to back down a bit, but not Kili - he was still smiling that stupid smile of his. Tracyn wanted to punch it off his face, and certainly would have done if it hadn't been for the shouting call of the fast approaching Bilbo Baggins. The hobbit was red in the face by the time he reached the company, proclaiming that he had signed the paper, and lifting it with one hand for Balin to take it from his hands. The elderly dwarf examined the parchment closely before nodding his head firmly "All seems to be in order, welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, Master Baggins". The announcement sparked a flurry of movement as each member of the company exchanged money purses.

Some with groans at having lost a bet and others with glee at having won. As for Tracyn she accepted her winnings with a wide grin, the large coin purse falling into her hand with a satisfying chunk, and threw Thorin a satisfied smirk who seemed quite surprised that the hobbit had indeed joined them after all. While the hobbit caught his breath a pony was brought forward for him, and it brought her great joy to see that someone other than herself was uncomfortable around horses. Poor Bilbo was insisting that he would walk, but his complaints were for naught and he was soon lifted onto the back of a pony by Kili and Fili. Once the hobbit was situated the company set forward once again, or at least an attempt was made to do so for Bilbo sneezed violently and called for a halt before insisting that they turn back so that he might go back and get a forgotten handkerchief.

Tracyn was really begging to get impatient at this point, she was still angry at Kili's words that Thorin liked her, and now they had the hobbit holding things up. Yes, she was pleased that he was here, but that didn't mean she liked the interruptions to the journey over such trivial things. Thankfully the situation was soon resolved by Kili tearing off a piece of his cloak and throwing it toward Bilbo, who didn't seem most pleased with the fabric that he had been given. Tracyn didn't really blame him for his scepticism, the fabric he had been given surely smelled of sweat and grime, and she didn't want to think about the grease on it from its previous owner's skin! She wasn't a picky person and had lived in a community where dirt was the norm - but that didn't mean that she wanted that grime on her face while blowing her nose. In the end, Bilbo seemed to decide that it was this or nothing and finally used the fabric to blow his nose. With the hobbit seen too they once again set off, Thorin leading the way, and with a merry Gandalf humming a light tune to himself.

The next day or so passed quickly, and Tracyn found that the Dwarves slowly warmed up to her company. For the most part, it was Kili that kept her company the most, and he often asked her about herself and where she had come from. It was a request that Tracyn was happy to comply with, for the most part, for in all honestly she didn't want to tell him about things he would not understand and she could not explain, and she found herself most often talking about her family and explaining to him the dynamics of the clan. Despite explaining as best she could there were still things that Kili found confusing, mainly the concept of adoption - for she'd been adopted into the clan following a raid on her original family, and she had been taken in by Kad Beviin when he found her hiding underneath her bed. Since that day she'd been his daughter, and in time she learned to call him father - these days she couldn't picture anyone else as her father. Adoption was second nature for mandalorians she had told Kili, but he still seemed to struggle with the idea of adopting someone in such a manner. Clearly such a thing did not happen that frequently in Middle Earth, either there was a lot of paperwork to go through or people just didn't view adoption as a welcome option when you had your own flesh and blood to invest in.

Leaving the topic of adoption behind her, she instead told him about her father and the extended members of her clan. Though in all honesty she had always seen her and her father as her own clan for they had rarely interacted with or agreed with the rest of the clan. Most of them had sympathies to the death watch, sympathy that neither her or her father had shared. The old ways were dead, and the violence of the new order didn't sit well with her at all - sure there was violence to be found in the modern day mandalorians, but it was nothing in comparison to what the death watch would dish out. They were, as her father often explained to her - radicalized. It was a lot to take in, and she didn't even go as far as trying to explain how people married in her culture - despite Kili asking her about it, with an obvious look toward his uncle that made her slap his arm. If he didn't get the process of instantaneous heart and soul adoption, then he certainly would not understand that all it took to be married was to exchange a verbal contract. Besides she had no plan to encourage the youngster in his delusion that his uncle liked her, and that they should be an item - if he knew about mandalorian marriage contracts he was sure to pester her about making one with Thorin.

She changed a look at the dark haired and stately dwarf, indulging herself for a moment that she certainly wouldn't mind making such a contract with someone of his looks. It was a brief moment however, and she lectured herself mentally for thinking such things about something that would not happen. Thorin saw her as an inconvenient addition to the company, a human, and when he reclaimed his kingdom she would be gone and they would never see each other again. She was here to perform a task, not let some young dwarf plan ideas of romance into her head - even if they did cause pleasant tingles to trail down her spine! Seeming to sense that the conversation was at an end Kili had fallen into silence, the first specks of rain falling from the sky and speckling over her face. Until now the weather had been pleasant enough, but it seemed to now be on a turn to more unsettled state. Thick gray clouds drifted between gaps in the tree canopy, and before long the sparse drops of rain had turned into a deluge, forcing the woman and her companions to pull their cloaks in around their bodies and hoods over their heads.

Of the group, Tracyn knew that she was most protected from the rain. The thick cloak and the loose clothing would indeed get wet, but the armor and environmental suit she had hidden under the layers would keep her warm and dry. Well, warm to a point anyway for the suit would not adjust the temperature without power, and she was trying to conserve the power cores for as long as possible - she certainly wasn't going to waste them on thermodynamics. Pulling her wet hood down further over her face Tracyn could only hope that the rain would end soon. From somewhere behind her she could hear the voice of Dori calling to Gandalf, his voice slightly muffled by his cloak "Master Gandalf, can you do something about this deluge?." She felt sorry for the company, for none of them had an environmental suit to keep out the rain. All they had was layers of thickly woven fabric, furs, and thick cloaks that didn't look like they were only waterproof to a point.

"It is raining master dwarf, and if will continue to rain until it stops. If you want to control the weather then I suggest you find yourself another wizard" Gandalf's reply signalled his annoyance of the question, and she couldn't help but grin at the idea that the great Gandalf was the one being picked on for once. Bilbo perked up slightly at the comment, his head tilting toward the wizard "Are their other wizards?" his innocent question softened the wizards face, Bilbo at least was on Gandalf's good side. "Yes, there are five of us ... there is ..." The names he exchanged didn't matter to Tracyn, she was more in shock that there were more wizards around. Five of them to be exact and Gandalf was flustered by the question of if they were all like him. The idea of more than one wizard was just a bit much, and Mandalore preserve her if there were five of them all like each other! The last thing she wanted was for five wizards to be meddling in her affairs because of some preconception that it was her fate to do some task for them.

Gripping the reins, she flicked them enough to make her mount speed up a bit, not wanting to hear anything else about wizards for the time being.


	6. Farms and Trolls

**To make up for the long wait, I have decided to upload this chapter early. Enjoy and I will be back to my normal schedule and plan to post the next chapter in a weeks time.**

**Chapter 6: Farms and Trolls**

"We'll camp here for the night, Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them" The announcement from the head of the column drew Tracyn out of the conversation she was having with Bilbo. Her eyes glanced at the ruined and overgrown building that they were approaching and agreed that it was as good a place as any to shelter - she moved to help Gloin with getting a fire started, but stopped when she heard Gandalf suggest that they should go to the Hidden Valley.

"You don't look too happy lass" the gruff voice of Gloin drew her attention to him, and she hadn't even realized that she was scowling until he had spoken to her. "Gandalf is a fool to think we should go to the hidden valley. It's residents will not help us and I will not go - contract or no contract" she crossed her arms, and she found that Gloin was giving her a smile rather than being horrified by her comment.

"Don't worry lass, Thorin will not take us to the elven city for he will not ask help of such traitors" his hand patted heavily on her shoulder, and it felt comforting to her that someone else other than her had been having issues with the elves. It seemed that Thorin had already put his foot down, for Gandalf was soon rushing out of the camp with a sour expression on his face - it seemed like the wizard didn't like it when people did as he said. What a baby.

Shaking her head she turned her attention to the pot that now hung over the fire, quietly helping him with the meal, while they had tried to shoo her away at first, they had soon accepted her presence, and seemed happy to hear about the spices she would add if they were available to her. Fili and Kili were sent out to keep watch, and Thorin remained sat in a corner with a dark expression on his face - one that for once she didn't blame him for. Elves left a bad taste in her mouth too. Ladling some of the stew into two bowls she moved toward the dwarven king, ignoring the wink that Oin threw in her direction. It was bad enough that Fili and Kili were trying to play cupid, but now Oin seemed to be in on the joke too. Where all men in this world destined to drive her crazy? It certainly seemed that way and she slumped to the ground next to Thorin with a snort.

"You know, I agree with you. Nothing good will come of asking those damned elves for help, the word doesn't seem to exist in their vocabulary" She wasn't quite sure what she had said, but Thorin was now looking at her in surprise, an expression that didn't seem to fit with his normally composed features. "What did I say? I didn't offend did I?" as she asked him to clarify she handed him the wooden bowl, which he simply took into his hands before seeming to compose himself "T'is nothing, just that never have I heard of a human having bad blood with elves" Was this really what his surprise was all about? Surely he and his kin were not the only ones that hated the elves? She found that hard to believe, and it also fueled her ire at the thought that just maybe she had been the only one to have been turned away by the elves.

"When I was new to this world I went to many cities to seek out aid, for a way to get home. The hidden city by all accounts had complete libraries and I went there to ask aid from the elves ... only to be turned away at their borders" She stabbed her spoon violently into the soup as she talked, staring at the contents as they swirled around with her movements - movements that both had soothing properties to them. Thorin shifted beside her, and she felt the heavy weight of his hand on her shoulder - a weight that felt comforting to her and caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. The feeling was a pleasant one to be sure, one that reminded her of those few stories of romance and fantasy that she remembered her birth mother telling her. "I am sorry that they treated you thus, elves hide themselves away in their cities and care naught for the outside world" his hand didn't move from her shoulder, the grip softening as he looked at her with an apologetic look.

"You should not apologize for them, their actions do not reflect upon yourself. You have, by all accounts, also been wronged by the elves" Tracyn found herself reaching up, placing her hand over his so that her fingers wrapped lightly around his hand. His hand was bigger than her own small hand, the fabric of his wrist wraps felt course under her fingers, and the warmth of his skin seemed to seem right into her very core. Even with the light grip she could feel the calluses on his fingers, calloused no doubt from his many years of work just to keep his kin afloat. According to Kili, Thorin was quite the blacksmith, and she could certainly feel that he was a man that worked with his hands. For a moment, they lingered thus, her hand on his, eyes engaging in silent conversation as they reflected in the distaste both had of the elves. It was a moment that was soon broken for a commotion came from the edge of the camp, Kili's voice rising from the ruins "Trolls! Trolls in the woods! Bilbo needs aid!"

It was a call that caused everyone to react, her hand falling from his, and her body springing up from it's sitting spot. She didn't even notice that her stew had fallen to the floor, nor did she care - Bilbo needed help and she intended to help him. Behind her, she could hear that Thorin too had dropped his stew, and his heavy footfalls told her that the dwarf was right behind her. With the rest of the company they ran into the woods, and quickly came across the three trolls - monstrous beings that reminded her of smaller and prettier rancors. Growling out a battle cry, and beskad drawn the woman launched herself into the fray without barely a thought - in fact, she relished the chance to be in battle once more. The tree trolls seemed confused by the attack, clearly they had not been expecting it, and she found that she was able to land a blow on the troll's leg as she slashed her blade across it, opening up a deep wound and drawing a cry of pain from the beast.

The feeling of air rushing past her told her just how close she had come to getting walloped by the flailing arms of the troll. Only a few inches had been in it as she ducked behind the troll and danced around another swinging blow that came from one of his companions. The trolls were not the most graceful fighters, and she found their clumsy movements laughable and easy to dodge. Tracyn almost felt like she was one of those midges she had encountered in the midge marsh, her body rushing in to land stinging blows on the trolls before running back out of the reach of their smashing hands. If she wasn't careful Tracyn was quite sure that she would get squashed to a pulp - even with the armor she wore. She landed a few more hits before she heard a guttural voice from one of the trolls, something about putting down their weapons or the burglar hobbit would be pulled apart. Stopping for a moment she saw that two of the trolls held the horrified Bilbo aloft, giving him a slight pull to make their point.

She growled, letting her beskad fall to the floor, the thud joining that of the other weapons that belonged to the company. Before Tracyn knew it she was bundled into a thick sack, the fabric held high up around her neck with a thick rope, and she was thrown down into a pile with half the company. For a moment, she was glad that she was toward the top of the pile, but that was short lived as she realized whom she was laying across - Thorin. They may have shared a moment, but that didn't mean she welcomed being laid out over his lap, her head laying in the crook of his hip and giving her the perfect angle to see that he wasn't best pleased with neither the situation nor their hobbit for getting them into it. As awkward as this all was she was pleased that she wasn't in the squashed shish kebab of dwarves that were currently being spit roasted over the troll's fire. The low voices of the trolls discussing how to cook trolls was not fully listened to for she was trying to think of a way out of this, but then something the trolls had said garnered Bilbo's attention - enough for him to give the damned trolls some advice!

The cheeky git! He was supposed to be helping the company, not the trolls! She swore at him in mando'a despite the fact that he wouldn't understand her scathing insult. It just felt good to hear the language of her own people again, she'd not spoken it much in the last few years, and the string of words where the longest she had let out in the longest time. The fact that he was now saying that she and the rest of the company had worms in their tubes was added insult to injury! Tracyn had been on the verge of another scathing sentence when she felt Thorin shift, his arm violently elbowing those nearest to him, and banging her head in the motion.

Stunned for a moment she wasn't able to join in on the proclamations that she had tubes though she soon was in on the ploy "I've got more worms than I have muscles! I am absolutely full of them!" if the situation was less dire she might have laughed, worms ... in her tubes ... it was crazy that the trolls were falling for it. It seemed that for all their size they really were very stupid! She was wondering how their IQ measured in comparison to that of a rancors when Gandalf's voice came from behind her, and soon after the bright light of the sun spilled upon the scene - sunlight that caused the three to turn to stone.

Well, there was a sight that she had never seen before.

Being on top of the pile as she was she was the first person that Gandalf helped out of the pile. She didn't stop to see what would be said, as soon as she was on her feet she moved to retrieve her beskad and cut down the group from the spit over the fire - once it had been smothered that is. When she had finished she turned to see that the rest of the group had also been freed of the sack and Gandalf was now looking at the trolls in contemplation. "They can't have travelled in sunlight, they must have a cave nearby" what significance that had she wasn't sure, but it sure seemed to excite some of the dwarves, honestly what was exciting enough about a cave that they had to go look for it at exactly that moment? Let's just say that she almost wished that she never had found out - at least for the sake of her nose.

She smelt the troll's cave before she saw it, the fetid and stinking stench pervading her nose and lingering in the back of her mouth in a manner that almost made her retch. She had smelled some horrific smells in her time, but this just about topped the list of horrible smells. Following the wizard in she could see why he was so eager to find the cave for it was full of treasure - the cave it turned out was something called a 'troll horde'. Wandering into the cave she made sure to 'be careful' of what she touched, and found a stand of weapons to examine - where she was soon joined by Thorin. He coughed and she slightly turned to look at her "I was wrong, we all were ... you fight well." The compliment was unexpected, she'd half expected him to say her skills were a fluke, and that she was just lucky to have gotten out of it alive. He looked like he might have said something else, but complimenting a woman on her fighting skills was something she commended the male on and she wasn't too upset that he didn't elaborate further as he went to see what Gandalf was up to.

Tracyn could have sworn she saw a blush on the departing dwarf's face, she wanted to blame the play of light in the dim cave, but she couldn't and she grumbled to herself as she saw Kili's grinning face in her head as he repeatedly said 'I told you so!'. Even when he was nowhere near her the dwarf tormented her, and she pulled out one of the swords to distract herself - a curving scimitar whose blade was etched with elaborate swirling lines. It was a beautiful weapon, a weapon that she claimed as her own. When she left the cave it was revealed that she wasn't the only one to have taken treasure from the cave, for she could see that both Gandalf and Thorin had new weapons - even Bilbo was holding on to a dagger that in his hands looked more like a sword. "Something's coming" The shout from Thorin drew attention from the hobbit's small sword and to the landscape beyond them, and Tracyn found herself wrapping her fingers of the scimitar as Gandalf called for them to arm themselves.

As the group ran into the woods Tracyn could only hope that they could outrun the danger, though when it revealed itself in the form of a brown-robed man it hardly impressed her. Gandalf seemed to know the man and she groaned as she heard Gandalf call the man Radagast - the man was another wizard. She had hoped to never met another wizard though thankfully they seemed more interested in talking to one another than anything else. Even so, she gave the pair a wide berth, heck she even kept a good distance away from the rabbits that drew Radagast's sled. It was un-natural for rabbits to pull anything! Surely even a group of them this large wasn't enough to pull a grown man around? Tracyn hadn't even intended to end up standing near Thorin, yet he was the one furthest away from the wizards and the rabbits. He seemed pleased to have her company, well, he didn't actively complain at any rate. Behind them she could hear the light conversation of the company, and beyond that the muted tones of the wizards as they talked, but it was the cry of a wolf that caused a hush to fall over the gathering.

"Was that a wolf, are their wolves around here?" The hobbit's question was joined by her own questioning head tilt, for she'd never heard of wolves in these parts of the wilds. Bofur answered with a shake of his head "Wolves? That is no wolf" The cause of the noise soon made itself known as a warg barreled into Bifur, knocking him to the ground even as Thorin moved forward to kill the creature. A second one appeared from the side and was quickly dealt with by Kili who shot it with one of his arrows. "warg scouts! Which means an orc pack is not far behind" Thorin's observation caused Gandalf to scowl, and the wizard was soon standing over the dwarf and asking him whom he had told of the quest - both times being responded to with a firm 'no one'. There was no time for arguments, they really needed to get out of there and their mounts had bolted long ago thanks to the trolls. She was secretly pleased that she wouldn't have to deal with her mount again, and she watched as Radagast left on his sled to provide them with a diversion.

That brown wizard really had a few screws loose to happily make a target of himself, but he was brave at the least and she silently gave thanks to him for putting himself in danger like that. With Radagast providing the distraction the group took flight, the cries of wargs coming from all directions around them as they rushed out in the open fields - open fields where they were vulnerable to being spotted by the warg scouts, diversionary wizard or not. Legs pushing her along at a fast pace she kept focusing on keeping to what cover she could find, open as the plains where there was plenty of boulders and bushes to hide behind. The calls of the wolves got further away and she really was starting to think they would elude their pursuers, she didn't see the warg and his mount of the rock above them, and almost jumped when Kili moved to bring the beast down - and she cringed as she heard the loud cries of the dying beast and its owner. They were as good as dead now, the rest of the warg pack had to be hearing this and would soon be bearing down upon them! With the warg and his rider dead the group moved from the spot, Gandalf leading the way around the edge of a boulder field and vanishing from view - the damned wizard had abandoned them!

With wargs closing in around them, scimitar in hand, she cursed the wizard and felt glad that she would die among warriors that were all too happy to have her back instead of running off like cowards.

"This way you fools" The voice of the wizard drifted from behind them, and Tracyn turned in amazement to see that the wizard was back and that he'd found a small passageway in the rocks, once she quickly flung herself into without any questioning. In a short time she was followed by the rest of the group, each breathing heavily as they attempted to catch their breath following the hard run. "I cannot see where the pathway leads, do we follow it?" Dwalin's voice echoed in the confined space as he talked and Bofur slightly pushed the group forward "We follow it, of course" with that it seemed as if the decision had been made, the group moved forward through the narrow tunnel, occasionally bumping into each other as the space forced them close to each other.

After a time, the tunnel opened up and the group found themselves on a roadway along the side of the mountain. The ground fell away before them into a valley, and even from this distance she could see the beautiful city that was graced with delicate architecture and waterfalls. "The Valley of Imladris. In the common Tongue, it is known by another name" Gandalf's voice was soon joined by Bilbo's as the hobbit looked down at the town. "Rivendell" his soft voice didn't stop the anger festering in Tracyn as she looked down at the town, her fists bunching at her sides.

"You ... you ... you planned this! I can't believe the nerve you have to bring us here" She moved to surge forward, but found Bofur pulling her aside, leading her away from the wizard, and toward the city that had turned her away all those years ago - a city she'd never wished to see.


	7. Rivendell

**Chapter 7: Rivendell**

Tracyn didn't like it. She was in Rivendell, surrounded by elves, and eating the drabbest food she'd ever encountered in her life. There was no meat in any of the dishes her hosts had served, and there certainly wasn't much in the way of flavouring in any of the dishes. It was just a lot of greenery that didn't look at all appetising, and while she normally wouldn't have been picky she just couldn't see how any of this food would keep her going. Even when travelling on the road she'd had sources of protein, here there was nothing, and she could tell that the dwarves shared her sentiments.

She could hear Ori lamenting that he didn't like green food, the dwarf picking up a lettuce leaf and throwing it back down onto the plate in distaste. Tracyn felt sorry for him and reached into one of the compartments of her belt, grasped some of her dried meats and passed them under the table to Ori. The look of delight that crossed his face made the sacrifice of her supplies worth it, and she tried to ignore the smirks on Fili and Kili's faces as they chattered to themselves in Khuzdul. Obviously they didn't want her to know what she was talking about, but she didn't have to know their language to know they were talking about her.

Tracyn didn't like when people talked about her without her knowing, especially when they did it right in front of her.

What she really wanted to do was go over and give them a slap, and force them to talk about what they were discussing, but that hardly seemed appropriate given their hosts. Letting out a low sound she made up a plate of food for herself and wished that Thorin was here. Then she could gripe with someone about being forced to be here, but he wasn't here - he, Balin and Gandalf had gone for a meeting with Elrond shortly after their arrival. Gandalf had asked her to come to, saying that if she wanted to talk to Elrond about a way home then now was the time, but she had refused.

A few years back she might have accepted, might have met with the elf lord and racked his brains for knowledge. But his people had turned her away in her time of need, and he hadn't even seemed apologetic when they had been guided into the city. There was also the fact that she had accepted that this world was now her home though it was a grudging admittance at that. She wouldn't be going back to Mandalore, she wouldn't pilot a spaceship again, and she wouldn't visit other planets while chasing bounties again. It was hard to accept and it was a sad reality.

"What bothers you lass?"

Dwalin's gruff voice drew her back to the present, and she focused on the nearly bald headed dwarf with mild surprise. He'd not spoken with her much, mainly keeping Thorin company throughout the trip, and giving her a wide berth. Tracyn had assumed that he had been avoiding her because he thought her a weak woman, and thus should not be out in the wilderness. His concern for her well being grated on her, and she departed about telling him her woes - after all she didn't want to give him more reason to think her weak. In the end, she settled on an answer that she knew he could relate to somewhat.

"I am thinking of home, and that I will never be able to return"

The understanding on his face was instant, his harsh features softening ever so slightly as a hush fell upon the rest of the dwarves in the group. Yes, they knew how it felt to leave behind home and not know if you would ever return - however unlike her they actually had a chance to retake their home and return. She did not have that option. A weight on her arm caused her to turn to look and see that it was Kili's hand on her arm, his young face having a look of sadness upon it as he looked up at her.

"When we retake Erebor, it can be your home if you wish it. I am sure Thorin would agree"

Tracyn just about choked on her own saliva at that comment. While she appreciated the offer of a place to call home, she didn't want the hidden connotation that Kili was making. She knew that he really meant that Thorin would insist on her staying in the kingdom, she could see it in the young dwarves eyes and in the way he lifted one brow slightly. Any appetite she may have had was now gone and she pushed away her plate of food, her tired eyes fixating on the annoying dwarf.

"I will think about it. Don't think I don't appreciate the offer, because I do appreciate it. I just ... wish to see it first before I decide on anything"

Gah, that was such a lame explanation. She wanted to say that she didn't know any of them well enough to want to stay in Erebor should they retake it. That she wanted to get to know them better, and put behind her the sadness she felt at not seeing the rest of the galaxy again. Tracyn also wanted to say that Thorin might not even want her to stay past the end of her contract, while she felt that there was a chemistry between them she did not yet know if Thorin felt the same, and besides she was human and she doubted that cross-species relationships between near humans were as accepted in this world as they were in others.

Fili and Kili might think Thorin interested, but they were young and probably romanticists that saw something there that did not exist.

Kili at least seemed to buy her excuse, his hand patting on her shoulder a couple of times before returning to pick his meal. By the time the meal had ended the dwarves were still hungry, and she found herself being pulled along as the group retreated to one of the quieter hallways. It was there that they set up a camp of sorts, and Tracyn couldn't help but chuckle to herself as Dori created a fire right in the middle of the hallway and started to bake some sausages.

She could only assume he had pulled the sausages out of the rations as he certainly didn't get them from the elves! Shaking her head and still laughing Tracyn settled down near the fire, her legs crossed as she watched the dwarves as they joked among themselves - even going so far as to throw Bombur another sausage. The added weight causing the bench he was on to break and drawing more ruckus laughing from the group as the larger dwarf tried to pull himself back up again.

Tracyn could only imagine the look on the elves faces when they came along and saw the damage that their guests had caused. The fire was sure to burn the floor, and as for the bench there would be no fixing that mess! That wasn't to say she felt sorry for the elves of Rivendell, because she didn't, they knew what they had gotten themselves into. Besides the chaos made her feel right at home, and she felt that perhaps living in Erebor wouldn't be so bad if it was full of shenanigans like this every day of the week. It would be like living in the rowdy cities of Mandalore, surrounded by gruff warriors that cared not for manners and propriety - it was the kind of place she belonged.

Eventually, the rowdiness of the group quietened as the night settled in, the pale moonlight drifting in through the open walls and casting gentle light over the group. Tracyn took note that some had already drifted off into sleep, while others leaned against the wall smoking pipes. The moon was high in the sky by the time Thorin and Balin arrived back at the camp, and by their expressions Elrond had given them information that they needed, information that Thorin soon relayed to the group. There was a hidden door that they needed to find, and it's keyhole would be revealed by the last light of Durin's day.

"Durin's day?"

Tracyn couldn't help but ask, she wasn't familiar with the holidays beyond what humans celebrated, and Durin's day certainly wasn't one of those days. Balin turned to her, his lips set in a line as he turned to the woman with a low exhale of air.

"T'is the celebration of the dwarven new year. We do not have much time left"

Ah, so that was why Balin looked so grim despite the informative session with Elrond. Thorin looked a bit more hopeful, and I didn't really blame him as he now had a direction to work toward. Sure he had a destination in mind, but he hadn't known how to get inside the mountain until now. He walked over to give a hearty pat on the back to both Kili and Fili before settling down to sit between his kin. The pair seemed just as excited as their uncle, their eyes glimmering in the settling darkness of the night.

"We leave 'fore the sun rises, Elrond will not give us his blessing and I will not sit around here waiting for it"

Thorin's plan was a good one, and she certainly wasn't going to argue over it. The elves had thousands of years of immortality to do things in, and certainly wouldn't understand their haste of the reasons behind their quest. They would have to sneak out and the idea filled her with a sense of excitement and adrenaline - despite the fact that it was hardly the same as trying to sneak into the Coruscant underbelly. Running a hand through her auburn hair Tracyn found a spot against the wall where she could doze off, one leg extended in front of her and the other pulled up against her torso.

She was just about to doze off when she heard the heavy sound of an armoured body dropping down beside her, the dull thunk muffled slightly by the layers of clothing that the person wore. It was the distinctive scent of the male that identified him to her, however. The tang of male musk, the slight drifting scent of tobacco smoke, and the vague notes of fur and leather heralding the arrival of Thorin at her side.

Opening one eye lazily the female examined the male that had just sat beside her. His face was in profile, showing the strong structure of his bones and regal bearing, and with the fire casting red upon his face he really did look like a king. Well, at least what she in her rudimentary understanding considered a king to look like anyway. Thorin seemed to sense her eyes upon him for he turned his head, looking up and down her form before locking his eyes upon her own - something she cursed and wished that he wouldn't do because his eyes caused her insides to squirm. He didn't even seem to know what he was doing to her, or he did and he enjoyed it because he maintained the eye contact with her while smoking on the long-necked pipe.

"From here on out the journey gets more dangerous, especially as our next leg of the journey takes us through the mountains. I would ask you to keep an eye on our burglar, as we will be leaving our wizard behind for a time"

Did Thorin want her to take on the hobbit-sitting chores? That he was leaving the hobbit in her charge showed a certain amount of trust on his behalf, though it also felt like he was just fobbing the hobbit off on her because he didn't want to be responsible for Bilbo's safety. She wanted to say no to him, to tell him that Bilbo's safety was the responsibility of the whole party and not just herself, but she didn't say no. Tracyn liked the hobbit, he was a gentle soul whose childlike stature made her want to look out for him anyway. Slapping her right hand on her knee, a light sigh leaving her as she gave a nod to the male.

"I will look out for him as best I can Thorin, rest assured he will get to our destination safely."

A gruff sound left the dwarf, one of relief, and she felt weight on her hand as he rested his upon her own.

"There are few women as honourable as you in the world, especially among humans. I am glad to have you on this journey with us"

Dammit, she was blushing, she could feel it! Compliments normally didn't affect her, but one from Thorin had her feeling like a school girl. There was also something else in his tone, some other message that she found hard to interpret, it was in the way that he said he was happy to have her around, not 'they' as a collective group, but him personally. His fingers gripped her hand, pulling it carefully from her knee and toward him so that he could hold her hand between his - it was then she understood that he in his own way was saying that he liked her. Or was she misinterpreting things again? No, he definitely seemed honest enough, and she guessed he was being careful so not to rouse the annoying attention of his nephews.

She noted that he kept his body between her and the group, no one would be able to see Thorin holding her hand and just assume them to be having an innocent conversation. Tracyn found herself intrigued by it all, she had seen other people in romantic situations, but she had never been romanced herself. Thorin had moved closer to her she noted, and she could feel his warmth due to the fact that she'd taken off her armor for the night. The poor woman didn't know how to respond to his comment, did she need to say something too? Should she say something? Would saying something ruin the moment? Why was life so complicated all of a sudden? Why couldn't she talk? There were too many questions, but Thorin didn't seem to expect a response.

He leaned forward, and she felt his lips on her cheek. The bristles of his beard brushing against her skin and causing her heart to just about jump out of her chest in excitement. There was certainly no misinterpreting that! Tracyn found herself gripping the hand that was still on her own, a slow breath leaving her as he carefully pulled away from her and cast a quick look over his shoulder. The rest of the company were paying no attention to them however, most were asleep and those that were still awake were chatting around the dying embers of the fire.

Once he was sure no one was watching the Dwarf adjusted to sit so that he was propped slightly against her, removing one hand from hers to reach into his cloak, and she soon felt something cool pressed into the palm of her hand. A quick look revealed the item to be a silver pendant of sorts the beaten metal formed into an odd symbol with a clear gem in the middle, as pretty as it was she started to hand it back toward him - after all she had no need for him to pay her extra for looking out for the hobbit.

"I do not need payment for looking out for Bilbo, he is a friend to me and looking out for friends is something I do for free"

She watched him as he smiled gently, pushing her hand back toward her while curling her fingers around the cold metal. He seemed almost upset that she was trying to give back the gift.

"This is a gift from me, I want you to wear it for no other reason that it enhances your beauty"

That was quite some line, she had to give him that! There would be a few men that would kill to think of something like that to hook up with a girl. Pulling in her hand close to her she took a moment to look over the pendant close up, her keen eyes recognising the mark as being similar to the one on his belt - a family emblem perhaps? Accepting the gift for what it was she slipped the silver chain around her neck and made sure the clasp held firmly. The pendant hung just below her collarbone, the metal cool against her skin, and she watched as a fond smile crossed Thorin's face before he settled back in against the wall.

With the conversation now at an end Tracyn herself settled back against the wall, eyes partially closed as she pondered on the events of the night. Slowly she drifted into a comfortable doze with her head resting against her knee and one arm tucked in against her body. At first she was aware of the world around her, and then it faded around her as she allowed herself to fall into a deep restful sleep - the first time she had done such a thing for a long time. She guessed it was because they were safe in Rivendell despite the elves, and thus there was no danger to remain aware for - soon enough they would be back out into the dangerous wilderness and such rest would be few and far between.

She drifted back to the world to the sounds of a snickering Kili, slowly opening her eyes she took in the dim twilight around her and noticed that at some point in the night she had slipped down so that she was resting against Thorin's side with her head on his shoulder. Now if she had woken up earlier it wouldn't have been so bad, but it seemed that Kili had found them thus and was now smirking at her in a triumphant manner. Tracyn pushed herself up to her feet, and started to advance on the young male who did not seem intimidated at all - in fact he was still grinning at her.

"Oh come on auntie, you two looked adorable - don't be like that"

Finally reaching Kili she grabbed the front of his shirt, staring him right in the eye. This was the kind of attention she had hoped to discourage in the young nephews of Thorin, but she was beginning to see that there would be no stopping it now.

"I am not your auntie"

She kept her voice low, mainly as she knew that there was a need for secrecy still. Kili fixed an innocent smile on his face, his eyes moving from hers as her intense stare finally forced him to look away from her. Tracyn watched as his smirk only grew as his gaze moved to her neckline and the pendant she wore, something about the necklace had set him off again and she dropped him to the ground in annoyance. Placing her hands on her hips she wondered to herself how to shut up the young man, but she didn't need to as his behavior had woken Thorin.

"Kili. You will stop pestering the Lady Beviin"

Kili lifted his hands in defeat, his head tilting to Thorin and moving off to pack his belongings. Tracyn however didn't miss the fervent whispering that was now occurring between Kili and Fili, and she just knew that Kili was sharing what he had seen with his brother. Hopefully the pair would have sense to leave her alone now that Thorin had asked Kili to stop pestering them - thought she really wished she hadn't been called 'lady' because she was far from being a lady. Shaking her head Tracyn moved to put her armour on and slip the rest of her thick travel clothes over the top - no one beyond the dwarves needed to see her futuristic beskar.

Soon all the company was ready to leave, and under the light of the twilight sun they slipped out of Rivendell and into the world beyond it's safe borders.


	8. The Moving Mountains

**Author's note: I have gone over my previous chapters and have done a bit of grammar checking. Things should look a bit cleaner now.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Moving Mountains **

The walk out of Rivendell was brisk, and mainly made in silence. Most of the group were in their own thoughts, thoughts of waiting gold and of distant homes. All silence had to be broken however, but this time it was not broken by the most obvious candidates. Tracyn found that instead of Fili and Kili breaking the silence, it was Balin that came to talk with her. She wasn't really expecting the white haired dwarf to seek her out, after all, they had rarely spoken before and she didn't think there was anything for the elderly dwarf to talk to her about.

How she wished that she had been wrong. The moment he had come up to her with that worried look in his eyes she knew that something was up, and she let out a low sigh as he asked to speak to her in private. With a nod, she purposefully slowed her pace down so that they dropped back from the main bulk of the party, giving a reassuring nod to Bifur who had been bringing up the rear of the column. Once they were far enough away Balin coughed and glanced up at the human woman beside him.

"I heard Kili and Fili talking of you when we left Rivendell."

Tracyn gave a sigh, she had hoped that Thorin's warning to leave her alone would keep the younger members in check. However, it seemed they had decided that as long as they were not bothering her directly they could gossip about her as much as they wanted to behind her back! They reminded her of the giggling pre-teen girls that she had seen dotting the streets of coruscant, and it disturbed her that these men enjoyed such pursuits.

"They just won't leave me alone. They just don't get it that I and Thorin are not a couple. We've only known each other a few weeks for mandalore's sake! So what if I fell asleep on his shoulder, it's what comrades do ... I've seen him and Kili do it and you don't see me calling them lovers."

Her tirade drew a low laugh from Balin. Though it was a short laugh for his expression soon changed to a more serious expression, his eyes searching her neckline until it landed upon the pendant she wore.

"Then he didn't tell you about the meaning behind his gift? I would have thought Thorin would have told you considering you have no knowledge of the dwarven culture."

It was a comment that caused the woman to stop. She had thought that the item had been a gift made in return for looking after Bilbo. It had not even begun to cross her mind that there might have been another meaning to the gift! Looking down at the elderly dwarf she knew that she would have to ask because it didn't seem like he was in a hurry to elaborate. He had stopped beside her, his eyes containing a look of kindness and concern - a look she had seen in her father's eyes many a time in her youth while he teaching her particularly dangerous skills. Mandalorian families may be tough, and children to fight from a young age, but that didn't stop parents from worrying about their children.

"What are you talking about Balin, what meaning could it have? He just asked me to look after Bilbo, gave me this, and I told him there was no need for such payment to look out for a companion."

Poor Balin, the dwarf looked completely mortified by her words. Almost choking on his own tongue and looking at her with pity, why did he have to look at her like that? She sighed and wondered why this damned world had to be so stupidly complicated, and in all honesty she was beginning to think that the dwarves needed some kind of owners manual - because while they were familiar they were also stupidly complicated to understand.

"It was not payment for providing a service my dear lady. In dwarven culture, it is custom to give gifts to the woman we wish to court. Thorin should have told you this - human as you are you would not have known the importance of the item. Did you really try to give it back to him."

The whole thing felt so surreal to Tracyn as the elder dwarf explained the situation to her, and she found herself reaching up to clasp the pendant between her fingers. If what Balin had just said was true then it would explain why Thorin had been so upset when she tried to give it back! In her era, a man would have just asked her to be his girl, but it seemed the whole thing was a lot more complicated than that.

"I did. How was I to know what it meant? Where I am from the guys ask out the girls they fancy - they don't go all vague on us and hand us fancy jewelry ... unless they wish to marry the girl that is and usually that's after dating a few years"

Yes. Their cultures really were a lot different in that regard and she wondered if she would have accepted the necklace if Thorin had told her about the meaning behind it. Tracyn realised that even with the revelation she would have accepted the necklace. Thorin was a nice looking guy, knew how to fight, could self-sustain himself, and generally the rough and tough type of man that she was attracted to. She just wished the male members of this world where a little more free and open about courtship - though that could also have something to do with Thorin being the heir to a dwarven kingdom.

"I apologize on Thorin's behalf, and I will be more than happy to inform you of the steps in a dwarven courtship"

There was more? Great just great! Just about now she could go for stabbing one of those ugly orc creatures in the face, because that was certainly better than the lesson she was about to get - but endure it she did because she knew that she would need the advice if she were to actively be pursued by Thorin. The last thing she needed was to miss another of his romantic gestures and make him think that she was not interested him in the slightest. The sound of Balin's voice would become familiar to her over the hours, and weeks that followed, and she began to realise that she enjoyed the company of the older dwarf.

* * *

Their route took them deep into the misty mountains, each day taking them higher in altitude and too much tougher terrain which slowed their pace and taxed their bodies. Clouds of fog drifted in front of her as she breathed out, stark against the darkness of the night around her as her body clung to the side of the sheer cliff wall. The pass they were currently taking was little more than a very thin ledge, barely a few centimetres wider than her feet. If the weather had been a bit better then she would have been thrilled to have been so high, but the rain that was driving down upon them was making the rocks slippery.

A firm hand gripped her right shoulder, causing her to look behind and into the eyes of Dwalin. The bald headed dwarf looked concerned for her, and she didn't blame him much. Of all the dwarves in the group, he was the only one that still thought of her as a weak woman, a hindrance on their travels that needed to be cared for. It didn't help that the knowledge that Thorin was courting her had made its way through the company either because the gruff male had become even more stupidly protective.

"Be wary, the rocks are slippery underfoot, and don't look down"

She snorted at the suggestion. Looking down was something that she had been doing since she'd gotten high enough to do so, for her there was nothing more thrilling than being up somewhere high and looking down at the dizzying view. Tracyn supposed the joy of it had come from years of buffeting atmosphere re-entries, rappelling off tall buildings, and leaning off balconies on the highest levels of coruscant. The fall below her didn't scare her in the slightest, and she wished that she had a parachute so she could base jump off the side of the cliff.

"Don't look down, pah ... this is nothing. I have been to cities with towers taller than this cliff and done numerous jumps into war zones - and I quite enjoy looking down master dwarf."

Oh yeah, she had told him! He didn't look too happy about it either if his drawn lips and reddening features were anything to go by. She couldn't care less what he thought of her, she wasn't going to take him treating her like some kind of damsel that was interested in only sewing. She was a warrior that knew her strengths and weaknesses and was damned if she was going to let him tell her what to do. Kili who had been ahead of her slowed down, enough to cause her to change her pace so that she wouldn't send the male tumbling off the thin ledge,

"Miss Beviin ..."

"Oh no, don't you Miss Beviin me! I am sick of him treating me like some damsel in distress. I am not one of your middle earth women, he knows that as well as you all do by now, and I will not be treated like one. I'll be damned if I'll be quiet about it either if there is something on my mind I will speak of it! If you don't like that then you can shove it up your shebs."

She could only be pushed so far, and she could see why mandalorian men said that their women were scary. To be honest she had been surprised that she had been able to hold her temper for so long, it had taken some practice, and some reminding to herself that these men needed to become more familiar with her being different to the normal woman. Dwalin however had been stubborn to the reality of it all, however, she did feel guilty that she had taken out her frustrations on Kili too.

Tracyn turned back a moment to look down the group, and found to her surprise that she managed to catch an amused grin on Thorin's face before he turned away to pretend that he had not noticed what was going on further up the group. She had expected him to disapprove of her behavior, for showing him up even, and it was reassuring to see that the dark haired object of her affections found amusement in her temper. As for Dwalin he gave a disapproving huff, his eyes narrowing at the object of his annoyance before letting go of the shoulder that he had been holding on to so firmly.

With the situation coming to a close Kili moved off again, Tracyn following behind as a tense silence fell upon the group. As they made their way carefully along the ledge the rain continued to fall, soaking through clothing to a point that even Tracyn could feel the chill seeping in through the environmental suit that she wore under all her layers. A low rumbling echoed from the darkened sky, a distant rolling of thunder that drew her eyes skyward to seek out the next flash of lightning as concern filled her. She was high up, and encased in a metal suit that was sure to make her a human lightning rod! Behind her, she could just about to hear Bilbo's comment of a storm, but she was just beginning to realise that this was no storm as she caught sight of what was really causing the sound.

The mountains where alive ... quite literally.

Giant constructs of stone moved through the darkness of the night sky, as tall as the mountains she was perched upon and making her feel miniscule in comparison. Tracyn almost told Dwalin to go take them on if he wanted to protect her so much, but she didn't for she was just completely gobsmacked by the sheer size of the creatures. She had never seen a sentient creature of that size before, it was massive, and the odd question of how something so big moved crossed her mind even as the earth shook under her feet and the mountain side they were currently on moved.

They were on one of the giants, and she turned her body to jam her fingers into the nearest crack in the rocks so that she wouldn't fall off the giant. The wet rocks had been bad enough, but now they were moving and that made things so much more difficult. Every time a boulder smashed into the giant it shuddered beneath them and swayed wildly on it's feet, it's balance off-centered by the impact of the rocks, and then disaster struck as one of the other combatants managed to knock the head off the one they were upon. With the head gone the stone giant tumbled toward the cliff, allowing the group on his other leg to jump off into the nearby mountainside. There was no such escape for her group, the leg they were on was too far away, and the giant was falling straight toward the cliff face.

They were doomed, and Tracyn briefly wondered if she would make an attractive splat against the rocks. Then she saw it, a small crevice in the side of the cliff, and she vaguely recalled telling the dwarves still with her to huddle in close for the hole was surely their only hope to avoid a horrible death.

Darkness fell around her as the giant fell against the cliff with a loud rumbling sound that was almost overwhelming. She couldn't afford to be in such a state however and flung herself forward instinctively, and found herself falling to the ground in the crevice. Due to the small space she soon found herself in the bottom of a pile of heavy dwarves as they fell in around her. The weight was almost suffocating, but even then she could hear a male voice shouting out over the sound of crashing rocks and muffling body weight. It was Thorin, and he was shouting her name in such distress that it was almost painful to hear. She only just had enough time to wriggle out from underneath the dwarves before Thorin was upon her, his strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her against his chest in a firm hug, and she could have sworn she could hear him weeping slightly in relief. But she wasn't focused on that, she was focused on the fact that she couldn't see Bilbo from over Thorin's shoulder.

"Biblo, where is he?"

Her question seemed to snap Thorin from out of his concern for her, his eyes looking over the crowded nook and noting that Bilbo was indeed missing. Within moments he had let her go, his bulky body moving back out onto the ledge, and it was there that Tracyn soon joined him. Dread filled her at the thought that the hobbit might have fallen on her watch, and she would never forgive herself, but then she spotted him hanging to the edge of the cliff face! As fast as she was it was Thorin that got to Bilbo first, his arm reaching down to the hobbit, but not quite reaching as the hobbit slipped down the cliff face and outside the reach of the dwarf's arm.

Not to be deterred Thorin slipped his body over the edge of the cliff face, his hand gripping the edge of the cliff face. Tracyn moved forward to wrap her fingers around his wrist firmly, giving the male a firm anchor just in case the rock crumbled underneath him as it had with Bilbo. She was soon glad that she had done such a thing, for as soon as Thorin had hefted hobbit up onto the ledge the rock crumbled underneath his hand, and Tracyn tensed her muscles as gravity pulled at the dwarf that she held onto. It was with her help that he was able to pull himself back up onto the ledge, but he didn't look happy - not at all. He was staring at poor Bilbo who was only now getting over his shock. She could hear Dwalin commenting that he thought they had lost their burglar, which only seemed to make Thorin more grumpy.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place among us"

It was that comment that resonated with her hard. Poor Bilbo didn't ask to fall as he had, it was a bit much to ask someone that had never ventured out his home before to know how to scale a mountain if they should fall - not to mention it was just pure bad luck that he had slipped. She crossed her arms across her chest as she looked at Thorin, and then at Dwalin whom was looking directly at her. It was obvious that the bald headed dwarf felt those feelings toward her as well as Bilbo.

"Does that apply to me too Thorin, he is as much a stranger to these lands as I. You can not blame him for bad luck. Kili could have just as easily ended up in the same situation, and you would not tell him such things."

"I ... no ..."

Tracyn got the sense that she had both caught Thorin off guard, and had brought a sense of guilt to him, because he certainly looked like he was regretting what had been said. She moved from his side, her hand gripping his shoulder to let him know that she knew that he wasn't talking about her. Tracyn knew without a doubt that Thorin trusted her and welcomed her completely into the group, but she had to stand up for Bilbo who really was not as used to this kind of thing as the rest of them.

Walking ahead of the group with Dwalin as she was, it was them that found the cave that would provide them with shelter from the rain. A brief search was made to make sure that the cave was unoccupied, but Thorin denied them a fire to keep them warm - Tracyn assumed that it was too dangerous, though it would have been nice to have one never the less. With a low outtake of breath, she lowered herself down to the ground, back resting against the cave wall for support as she attempted to get comfortable and forget the sorry situation.

She soon had company however as Thorin came to sit near her, as he often did when the company settled in for nightly rests. It was usually the only time that they could spend together in quiet company, but she didn't know what to say to him tonight. Usually she would indulge him with tales of her life travelling the galaxy, but tonight she felt like she would say something stupid out of annoyance if she said anything to him.

"When I spoke before, I did not include you - you know that. I have heard your stories and trust that you can defend yourself if need be ... Bilbo has had no training in arms, nor survival"

Tracyn gave a grudging nod to show that she understood. Bilbo was indeed not trained, but every army needed non-combatants to support them - even when that army was only a small group of fourteen people.

"No training can defend against bad luck, no one can escape it, we can only prepare for the fall out. Bilbo has a place among us, fighter he may not be, but he is light of foot and of strong heart and we will need both those things when we come to the mountain"

She left it at that. Tracyn could see that she had given Thorin much to think of, and to be honest she needed to rest. Shifting a bit she allowed her head to fall to rest on Thorin's shoulder, the soft fur of his cloak providing a comfortable resting place even if it was wet from the rain. Once comfortable she allowed herself to drift off, trusting that those on guard at the cave entrance would awaken her if they were attacked.

It was not an attack from outside the cave that awoke her suddenly from her sleep later that night. It was a danger from within that caused her to wake up as the floor shuddered and gave way beneath them, rudely awakening the party and causing them to fall deep within the mountains in a tumbling mass of legs, arms, and bodies. There was no up and down as they fell, just the sensation of gravity pulling down and sudden surprise, and then before they knew it the ground hit them with a sudden, and very harsh thud that jarred all the air from their lungs.

Then the goblins were upon them, and Tracyn wondered how exactly they would be getting themselves out of this horribly sticky situation they were now in.


	9. The Goblin King

**Chapter 9 : The Goblin King**

The press of bodies all around her made for a very claustrophobic sensation that didn't settle well with her at all. The foreign chatter of harsh voices reached her ears as the bodies of the dwarves were pulled off her, and she soon felt a hands on her own body - scrawny hands that had a surprising amount of strength to them and their grip had her reacting with instinctual violence. Her fists punching out, and legs kicking out at any creature that dared to get too close to her - and for a moment it seemed to be working as she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. She moved her hand to reach for her sword, but before she could even get the hilt in her palm the goblins were upon her once again - and this time they had numbers on their side. Tracyn fought back against the new group of goblins, determined not to make it easy on them, and she felt a sense of achievement every time she felt her fist or her foot connect with one of the goblins. Her whole world was just a mass of flailing limbs and a far off stone ceiling, and every now and then she would look to one side and see momentary images of the dwarves being pushed and herded along with her.

Tracyn had no idea where they were being taken to, she was still surprised that the goblins hadn't killed them right off the bat! Goblins were not known for their mercy, nor their intelligence and thus she was surprised that they were displaying even the vaguest hints of those traits! She tried to listen into their guttural language, trying to make sense of what they were saying - but she couldn't understand the Goblin tongue any more than she could understand the elven language! As the minutes passed by she slowly stopped her struggling, realising that they were getting her no where, and that she might as well save her strength - she would need it when an opportune moment to escape presented itself.

As suddenly as the journey through the mountain started, it stopped, and she found herself dropped down to the ground - but not before the goblins stripped her of her visible weapons. They didn't do a good job of it, but then again Tracyn very much doubted that they had ever dealt with mandalorians before - she could still feel the weight of her beskad against her shin, and she was glad that she had chose to move it there before she had gone trekking in the mountains. Of course there was also the various small weapons in the pockets of her belt, and the vibroblade in her gauntlet - oh yes - she could kill these goblins a hundred different ways and they wouldn't be any the wiser to it! A sly smile drifted across her lips as she settled herself, content in the idea that she was still dangerously armed and allowed her gaze to drift up to the fat and ginormously grotesque form of the goblin king! Mandalore was he ugly! He was uglier than a Hutt and that's saying a lot! The huge goblin seemed quite pleased with his haul, his eyes trailing lazily over the group, and Tracyn made sure to give him a scowl when she felt his piggy eyes trailing over her body in a slow once over before he left his throne, a mass of Goblins massing forward to create a step for him so that he could reach the ground with ease. It was unsettling to see anyone (or anything for that matter) give up their lives to die in such an undignified manner, and Tracyn scowled as the goblin king moved forward to address them.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

"Dwarves and a human female, Your Malevolence."

The smaller Goblin to his side responded with a low bow, his gangling frame seeming such a stark comparison to the much larger king. How the king was still living despite his obese state was beyond the female - most humans would be dead in such a state. Perhaps the goblin had more in common with a Hutt then she had first assumed. The Goblin king turned his head, a brow raised as if not quite believing what had been said by the goblin that seemed to be serving him as some kind of advisor.

"Dwarves and a human?"

"We found them on the front porch."

The Goblin king gave a low sound, before turning away from his advisor before turning back to the group, his face seeming all the more clouded by a mix of emotions that not even Tracyn could read - and she generally prided herself for being able to read facial expressions. He fixed his hard gaze on each of the members of the group, and Tracyn was pleased to see that no one in the group responded to his glare. In fact, some of the dwarves looked bored, their expressions carefully masked and guarded as they stared back at the king of the goblins.

"What are you doing in these parts? Speak!"

Silence fell over the area as none of the dwarves responded to the question. Tracyn herself slowly crossed her arms over her chest, her lips pursed into a thin line as she herself remained quiet. It seemed that the fact that no one would talk only frustrated the goblin king more, and he flailed his arms around in a wild fashion as he motioned toward the gathered crowd of goblins that had come down to witness the interrogation of the dwarves.

"Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the female."

The large finger of the goblin pointed toward Tracyn, and he seemed unsettled when the woman flashed a daring smile in his direction, the wild look in her eyes seeming to catch the goblin off guard as Tracyn took a step forward, her head dipping in her own sarcastic bow.

"Do your worst beast, but you waste your time ... I ... "

Tracyn had been about to say more when she felt her form pushed aside by the strong arm of Thorin, her ire rising as the male stepped in front of her protectively. She didn't need him to protect her, and while she didn't actively seek out torture she was not going to back down from it either like some kind of coward while someone else suffered it in her place! Oh she knew whom the large goblin would turn to if he couldn't torture her first, he would turn to the youngest, and Tracyn didn't want to see Ori hurt if she could help it!

"Wait."

Thorin's voice was steady, calm, and strong as he talked. It was a voice that commanded respect and power, every bit the voice of a king as the stocky dwarf stared down the huge goblin who was looking down at Thorin in slight surprise, like a nexu that had just seen it's selected prey. It didn't seem that the king of goblins didn't really recognise this dwarf as a proper king, and the mocking greeting that soon followed proved such a belief in spades.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror; King under the Mountain."

There was a sarcastic drawl to the goblin's voice showed that the respectful greeting was anything but respectful. The large Goblin gave a mocking half-bow before looking back up at Thorin with a grin on his face that revealed his rotting teeth - and caused Tracyn to pull back her lips in disgust. She didn't even what to think about how bad they smelled, and she was glad that she was a good few dozen paces away from the goblin king! Poor hygiene normally didn't bother her, living in the backwoods of Mandalore as she had, but she'd always been a stickler for good oral hygiene despite her rural lifestyle ... clean and nice smelling breath just made travelling the galaxy a little more relaxing for her. Suppressing a shudder of disgust the woman watched as the Goblin king continued to torment Thorin.

"Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg."

The look on Thorin's face was one of surprise, and of disbelief. He thought the pale orc to be dead, and clearly didn't want to believe that the orc was still alive. Tracyn herself didn't think the orc was dead, she never believed that anyone was dead unless she could see and touch there stone cold bodies! Seeing that Thorin had never seen the dead body of Azog meant that there was a possibility that the orc had recovered from his wounds and had since returned to his defiling ways. Of course she'd never say that to Thorin's face, she knew better than to push the matter with the grumpy dwarf - and besides since none of them had seen Azog there was a chance she was wrong and the orc was dead. Better to wait for him to show up his face, and tell Thorin that next time he killed the orc then he should make sure he actually sees the dead body laying on the ground in front of him! A low growl left the dwarf as he finally responded to the goblin.

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago."

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?"

The goblin king laughed, a high and almost shrieking sound before turning to a tiny goblin say in a basket hanging from a rope. The tiny goblin was holding a slate in one hand, and a scribing pen in the other - something that caused a sense of homesickness rushing through Tracyn as the sight reminded her of seeing people making notes on their holopad. She'd not thought of her life beyond middle-earth in some time, and so it hit her hard that she could still miss such small elements of a life that was now long gone. The small goblin put the 'pen' to his slate, scrawling on the item as the goblin king talked.

"Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize."

The tiny goblin chittered excitedly as he make a last not, pulled a lever, and zoomed off into the vast caverns. With the tiny goblin now gone the goblin king made a motion for his lesser pawns to pull out the torture devices, a look of pure glee on his face as he thought of the fun that he would soon be having with these new arrivals into his kingdom. The rolls of fat on his body seemed to dance around him with each one of his exaggerated movements, and there was a brief moment of wondering on Tracyn's part on if this was part of the torture too? No wonder Hutts didn't move quickly if this was the result of such movements. The scowl on her face showed his distaste of the scene though it was an expression that was soon wiped off her face as she noticed the arrival of the torture devices. The ancient looking devices really were quite nasty looking, and while she couldn't recognise what all of them should be she at least did know that they were capable of inflicting great pains and a slow horrific death.

She'd been trained not to give anything more than her name while under torture, but Tracyn didn't really know how long it would be before she would give information with such machines in mind given that her father had been loathe to inflict any great pains upon her in his own conditioning. Mandalorian though he was he just didn't have the ability to hurt his own daughter, not matter how great his desire was to train her well - besides Mandalorians hadn't been to war against outside species in centuries, so being captured and tortured wasn't likely going to happen - he just included it in her training because it was something his father had done with him. Fear creeped it's way through her flesh, tingling in the nervous system, and something must have showed on her face for Balin pressed a calming hand against her lower back. It was all she needed to pull herself back under control, making sure that any hints of fear where wiped off her face as the goblin king started to sing.

"Bones will be shattered, necks will be rung! You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung. You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin Town."

He wasn't a great singer in any sense of the word, but the smaller goblins around him didn't seem to be bothered by it - heck they were either dancing around with glee, arranging the torture devices, or examining the weapons that had been relieved from their prisoners. One of the Goblins reached to where Thorin's newly acquired blade rested, it's thin fingers wrapping around the hilt of the blade and pulling it out of it's dark home by a few inches . A gasp of horror left the goblin, and the blade was thrown to the ground where it landed in full view of the other goblins in the area - goblins that screeched in fear as they skittered away from the blade. Clearly the goblins recognised the blade, and it must had had quite a reputation to cause such fear among them. Even the goblin king looked upon the sword with fear, his jowls quivering as he retreated to his throne in much the same manner as a woman might run to a chair if they saw a mouse in their house. A thick finger pointed to the sword once he was back in his lofty position, the hand itself even having a shake to it as he held it straight out in front of him.

"I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks."

Masses of goblins rushed forward as their king spoke, and Tracyn found herself elbowing the first one that came toward her in the face. It shrieked in rage and came at her again, blood dripping from it's now broken nose and making it look all the more ferocious. She was ready for it, her arms held loose by her sides and hands clenched into fists - quite ready to give the smaller beast another punch in the face. What Tracyn wasn't ready for however was the gripping of hands behind her, the harsh hands of the goblins pulling her arms around her and starting to bind her in thick ropes even as the charging goblin wrestled her to the ground. Even in her prone position she could still hear the goblin king shrieking in outrage that such a blade had been brought into his kingdom.

"Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!"

All thoughts of torture had obviously been forgotten about now it seemed, and it was a good as time as any to reveal her hidden arsenal to the goblins. A slight press on her gauntlet had the vibroblade coming free of its holdings, slicing through the ropes that held her arms tight behind her and causing the goblins around her to shriek in surprise as she then hosted the blade deep into the neck of the nearest of the bunch. She got no amount of satisfaction from the realisation that this was the same goblin whom she had elbowed in the face shortly beforehand, and the look of sheer surprise on his face made the whole thing all the better for her as she used a foot to help her remove the blade from his neck.

Shocked as his companions where the element of surprise was now gone and they were moving in around her once again, pulling their own daggers from out of the rags on their bodies - rags that Tracyn wasn't even sure could be called clothing. Tracyn was just about to launch herself into the mass of Goblins when a blinding white light filled the room, stealing her eyesight from her for a few terrifying moments. It was like a flash-bang going off in the room, only without the deafening bang of the grenade, but even without the bang the blazing light was just as incapacitating and it took a few long moments for her sight to come back to her, and when it did she saw the tall form of Gandalf standing before them,

Magic ... how did it work? How did Gandalf know they were here let alone how did he get here? Those questions remained unanswered for now as he pulled out his own blade, his eyes turning down to look at the group as the goblins all stared at the new arrival. Gandalf encouraged them to take up arms and to fight, and Tracyn didn't need telling twice as she rushed forward to claim the scimitar that had been taken from her. It's cool hilt felt calming in her hand, and she laughed as she launched herself into the fray in much the same manner as she had been planning to beforehand. Her scimitar cut an unerring passage through the ranks of the goblins, and all around her the sound of the blade upon blade filled her ears as the dwarves joined the battle. The arrival of Gandalf had brought new hope and energy to the company, and they fought with earnest against the goblins and pushed them back enough that they were able to leave the throne room. At some point in the battle the wizard sent the huge mass of the goblin king falling into the depths of his kingdom, and Tracyn didn't linger around long enough to take enjoyment out of the sight - they needed to get out of here now and standing around watching a goblin fall to his death wasn't part of that plan.

So she followed in the path of the company, her scimitar and vibroblade jabbing at any goblin that dared come close! She could only hope that the journey out of the mountain would be a damn sight better than their fall down into it had been!


	10. Escape from the Mountain

**Author's Note: Another apology for the lateness of this. Work hours took a lot of free time off me, and I had to write this in what free time I did have. Things should be quieting down soon, but if they don't I will keep you updated on what is going on in my profile. **

**10 | Escape from the Mountain**

Calls and cries came from all angles, echoing off far walls and scratching against eardrums as the troupe rushed through the open passageways of the goblin kingdom. Somehow in all the mass of confusion Tracyn found herself in the midst of this group, a position she much despised given that she would have much preferred to be at the pointed tip of the group - to be up at the front with Thorin. To lead with her vibroblade, and with her scimitar! But she was far away from that, she was in the middle and thus not many goblins would lose their lives to her hands that day. All she could do was run along with the group, watching as goblins were pushed over the side of the thin walkway by the dwarves at the front of the group - then a thought hit her and she reached over to tug at Kili's bow, an action that drew a sound of surprise from the dwarf who tried to pull away from her.

"I would borrow your bow and quiver master dwarf, I wish to help. However, there is little I can do from here with my blades."

Her request drew a light sound from the young dwarf, and she was quite sure she caught sight of a blush as he shrugged a shoulder to help her relieve him of the weapon and its quiver. It was an awkward process, especially in the middle of battle, and Tracyn found herself missing the use of her blaster - she would have used it if she wasn't so afraid of revealing such technology to the group. Sure they were aware to some depths that she wasn't of this world, and that she had knowledge of technology beyond their means, but that didn't mean that she had to take it out and show it off! Heck, it was bad enough that she'd retrieved some of her tech from her stash!. It was a massive risk that she had taken to do such a thing, but she had done such a thing as she was sure that this trip would be dangerous.

So she'd gathered the items one night during the early weeks of the trip, and ever since then she had kept them hidden. They would remain thus, and she was glad that Kili put up no fight to her taking his bow and arrows from him. One hand on the bow she took a moment to sling the quiver of heavy arrows around her hip before taking one out to notch it to the string. Ancient technology like this was rarely used in the galaxy, a very few species used such things and even then it was more of a sport then used for survival. Her father, however, had taught her to use such weaponry, to rely on basic things if you were caught without gear or when EMP made it a worthless pile of metal. However those lessons were years in the past ... could she even still hit anything? She was a well-practiced shot with a blaster, but bows and arrows were far different animals to the blaster. Blasters where elegant things that could be tweaked and adjusted to help with the accuracy of one's shoot - bows and arrows were not so forgiving.

No time like the present to find out. Seeking out the nearest target she pulled the string to her cheek, lined up her shot, and loosed the arrow from the string. The arrow flew straight and true through the air, catching her target clear through the knee - normally such a shot would have been deemed a complete failure. She'd missed the target in the prime area of the Torso, where all the vital organs were. In this situation, however, missing the prime target worked out rather well. The leg of the beast gave out under it as the arrow tore through flesh and ligaments, and the lack of support caused it to tumble toward the edge of the walkway. It's flailing arms reached for a handhold to stop the fall, but the only hold it got was on one of its companions - the weight of the injured one carrying both over the edge with loud cries of pain and distress. Tracyn cursed at her poor shot under her breath, not missing the impressed look that Kili threw in her direction as he, his brother, and his uncle continued to forge a way through the massing goblins. From the sounds that drifted from the back of the group she was sure that whoever was heading up the rear was doing a great job in pushing back the goblins coming in from that direction.

A quick look over her shoulder confirmed the suspicion, the whirling axe of Balin beating back the goblins while Oin used his slingshot to distract any goblins that managed to get past the vicious warrior. She smiled, turning her attention back to the front, not wanting to run into the backs of any of the dwarves in front of her - not that any of them had any intention of stopping. She had to remember that most of them had shorter legs than her and she could easily outrun them if she wasn't concentrating. Taking another arrow from the borrowed quiver she strung the bow once more, pulling the string to it's full draw, and adjusting the aim a little higher than she had previously - she would have preferred to relearn the skill of archery away from the fray of battle, but she didn't have that luxury at the current time!. Tracyn would have to perform as best she could, and hope that no one would notice in all the melee if she happened to miss any of the enemies. She was Mandalorian, the fact that she had to relearn a skill under stress was completely normal - even if it was not preferable.

Her next arrow flew from the string within a few seconds of her pulling the bow to its full draw, the arrow hitting her next target through it's left eye socket. The beast didn't even have time to cry out in pain, it was dead before it even hit the rocky walkway. Tracyn was pleased that the shot had been better than her previous one had been, and she got a sick sense of satisfaction as she kicked aside the body so that she could step past it. It was just one of many bodies felled by the group, but the fact that the shot had been better than the previous one pleased her. Sure some adjustments could be made to improve her accuracy after all that shot could have easily missed given how small the target was. She was sure, however, that by the time they escaped the mountain she would have got a whole lot better.

That was if they escaped from the depths of the goblin kingdom, however. Tracyn had fought with some pretty bad odds in her time, but a company of this size against hundreds of goblins didn't stand much of a chance. Pursing her lips into a thin line the woman followed behind the whirling blades of the dwarves, shooting off arrows whenever she got the chance and smiling as each hit their mark. All except the one that went cartwheeling through the air after missing its target and hitting the wall instead. The reason why she had missed? Well, it had something to do with the fact that Gandalf had just used magic to loosen a round boulder from its lodging in the ceiling. Tracyn had seen him use magic once before, but seeing it being used still unsettled her greatly - it reminded her that the old man could defeat her easily with just a mere thought. It just wasn't fair game in her eyes, magic was a coward's way of winning fights. Real fights were won in the thick of melee, with blasters and blades ... where the enemy had a chance to fight back and die in the glory of battle. Against magic, there could be no defense.

Hooking her borrowed bow over her shoulders she rushed forward to help push the boulder that Gandalf had just freed. He might have used magic to release it, but she wasn't going to push aside something that could be used to their advantage. The rough surface of the rock was soon covered with blood as they used it to bulldoze their way through the ranks of the goblins. In all honesty Tracyn would have liked to use the boulder all the way through the tunnels, it really was useful to be able to take down dozens of goblins with one fell swoop! It was also a quicker way of making their way through the masses of goblins. Sadly it wasn't long before they lost the heavy item over a ravine as their current walkway turned a ninety-degree angle. There had been no saving the boulder, no way to get it to turn the way they wanted, and thus they were now back to fighting their way through the masses of goblins with their blades. For Tracyn that meant pulling the bow off her shoulder once more, and going back to shooting at goblins on other walkways or at the furthest reaches of the hordes rushing in on their walkway.

It was a task that became pretty mechanised after a while. Draw an arrow, notch it, draw back the string, and loose the arrow into whatever poor beast was her current target. Each arrow hit the beast in either it's torso, a limb, or in some part of its head. The vast variance in the location of her shots showed just how bad her accuracy was at that time, they should have been hitting with a much better accuracy, but the bow was much heavier than any blaster she had ever owned and she didn't have a way to 'sight up' her shot either. She had to rely on her instincts, the feel of the bow, and sighting up down the length of the arrow shaft - something that didn't always tell her where the arrow was going to end up. It was frustrating, and no amount of compliments about her shots given to her from the dwarves was going to make her feel any better about the situation. Tracyn just had to be happy with the fact that she was hitting things, and that she could work of practicing her aim for more accuracy at a later date. That is if she wanted to continue using a bow and arrow as a form of weaponry.

All around her she could still hear the calls of the goblins, and the sound of creaking wood as they ran across the occasional bridge. It was at one such bridge that they suddenly found themselves once more accosted by the large form of the goblin king! How it was he had survived was a complete guess, after all he had fallen from his perch and into the depths of the mountain, but it once again proved Tracyn's thought that you couldn't trust anyone to be dead unless you saw their body. She scowled up at the beast's body, every inch of his fat moving with his rolling laughter as it leaned forward to smile down at the wizard with rotting teeth.

"You thought you could escape me. What are you going to do now, Wizard?"

It was a question that Gandalf answered with his blade, the keen metal slashing the goblin across it's generous jowls and then through the layers of fat upon its stomach. The large goblin had a confused expression on its face as it looked down at its fatal wounds, brows raised in a frown before responding with a soft "That will do it" before dropping down dead. As last words went they were pretty stupid, but then again it was just a goblin and thus likely wasn't the smartest of beasts. Tracyn hardly had time to contemplate the matter as the wooden walkway they were on gave way, sending them falling further down into the depths of the mountain.

"Osik"

The curse left her lips before she even had time to contemplate what was going on, her stance widening so that she wouldn't fall over. She could feel the pit of her stomach falling out of her body, gravity pulling her downward with a familiar feeling she thought she would never feel again. Hundreds of rappels, parachute jumps, and sickening re-entries into atmosphere meant that she was used to the sensation that gripped her body the moment that the solid platform gave out from under them. Adrenaline filled her system as the wooden platform fell deeper into the darkness of the mountain, and even with as wide a stance as she had she eventually found herself lowering to her knees, hands gripping tightly to the ever shrinking platform as it was pulled apart by the sides of the chasm.

The sensation of a firm hand on her left shoulder drew her attention to that side, revealing the pale face of Gloin as he gripped to the plates of her armour. Clearly he wasn't enjoying this at all, his face was blanched white and she felt sorry for the dwarf. Well - she felt bad for all of them. None of them would have fallen like this before, they were used to having their feet on solid ground. She gave Gloin as comforting a look as possible before their whole trip came to a juddering halt at the bottom of the chasm. It was a jolt that caused Gloin to fall into her, his heaving weight had her falling flat against the gnarled wooden surface of the platform ... or at least the parts of it that had survived the fall. Panting hard at the sensation of adrenaline still running through her, all that Tracyn could do was push herself upward from the flooring and remove herself from the tangle of dwarven limbs that she had found herself entangled in.

She had just started to make progress in untangling herself from Gloin when the heavy body of the goblin king hit the platform. The heavy weight of the dead body pinning them all to the platform, mounds of fat seeming to melt into every area of the platform that had certainly saved them from certain death. All the air left her lungs as the weight of the dead beast settled, and she was glad of the armour she wore as it protected her from the worst of the crushing weight. Grumbling under her breath she slowly wiggled and worked her way out from under the weight of the beast, and was glad when Fili and Kili came over to help her.

"Thanks, Fili, Kili. This guy weighs a tonne"

Kili gave her a cheeky grin, his hand wrapping her wrist to help pull her out from under the dead weight. The look enough warned her that the young dwarf was going to tease her - despite the fact that they yet to fully escape the goblin kingdom.

"No problem. We have to help our auntie out from all these sticky situations you like to get yourself into"

Tracyn let out a growl and was seriously regretting letting Kili and Fili help her now. Yes, she and Thorin were 'courting' but that didn't make her their aunt. It wasn't like they were married, that was the only time that the pair would have a real reason to call her an 'aunt'. She also didn't like that they suggested that she needed help out of sticky situations, sure she didn't argue that she was in a sticky situation, but she was quite able to get out of them herself. With a final shift of her body she freed herself from the mass of weight above her, giving a sharp 'thanks' to the two dwarves that had helped her, and moved to help the rest of the company out from under the goblin king. It was a process that took a lot less time than was expected, but that didn't seem to stop Gandalf from reminding them that they had to quickly get out of there. They were all aware that they needed to flee, but wriggling free of dead weight was never easy and she didn't see Gandalf offering to help! This was the one time his magic would have been of use, and where was he? Standing around and reminding them to get a move on.

With the last of the company finally free of the dead goblin, it was time to make a move. Tracyn slipped into place behind Oin as they ran from the depths of the mountains, following the natural path of the chasm and it was soon evident that the darkness of the tunnel was getting lighter. She could tell that they were reaching an exit, the lightness in the tunnel growing ever stronger until they were finally out in the open air!. It was such a relief to be out of the mountains, to have escaped the realm of the goblin king without injury, and she followed after the dwarves as they broke through into the cover of the tree line. Somewhere to behind her she could hear Gandalf calling out a roll call - whispering each name softly as each person finally slowed to a halt. The delight of escaping soon turned to terror when she realised that Gandalf hadn't called Bilbo's name!

"Where is Bilbo? Has anyone seen him"

"I think I saw him slip away when the goblins took us"

Tracyn frowned as Dori answered the wizards question, and she could feel the eyes of Thorin upon her. It had been her job to look after the hobbit, and he was missing. She'd let down her love and had broken her promise that no harm would come to bilbo

"Then he is still in the mountain? I will go back for the hobbit for I will not have him suffer death in there"

Her determined words drew a low laugh from Thorin. The handsome dwarf had a scowl on his face as he looked back the way they had come. At first she thought that he was angry with her for losing sight of the hobbit but no ... surprisingly the dwarf seemed to be angry at Bilbo! But why? She thought that after her talk with him up in the cave he had learned to let up on the hobbit - but there still seemed some distrust deep within Thorin.

"You will not go back in there, for he is not a prisoner of goblins. I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance to leave and he took it. He has thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone."

Tracyn frowned, lips pursing. She didn't believe that of the hobbit, he might have wanted to go home at one point - but she very much doubted that Bilbo could find his way out of the goblin kingdom on his own. She was quite sure that the hobbit was being tortured right now, even as they spoke, and she was about to turn around to go back into the caves when she heard the familiar voice of biblo drifting from near one of the nearby trees

"No, he isn't!"

Bilbo was back! Where had he gone? How had he escaped the goblins? It was all a mystery and the hobbit didn't seem eager to answer how he had sneaked out of the goblin kingdom. What was important was that he was back! Thorin, however, seemed to want to pursue the subject, he still had a need for answers it seemed and he was soon asking the hobbit his own question.

"Why did you come back?"

Bilbo shifted awkwardly at the question, before looking over the group - though she noted that he didn't look at her ... and why would he? Given the content of his response?

"Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag-end. I miss my books. And my armchair and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back. Because ... you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."

She didn't have a home. Not one she could reclaim, and not one that anyone here could help her back to. But she had an offer of a new home, and she was glad that Bilbo wanted to help take back that home for the dwarves that had offered it to her. The words the hobbit spoke seemed to even have an effect on Thorin, the expression on his face softening somewhat for a brief moment before a howl on the wind hardened it once more. The howl belonged to a warg, she recognised that fact that the sound belonged to such a beast after hearing that same sound during their travels to Rivendell. It seemed they had left one trouble behind and had just now encountered another! Gandalf turned his head in the direction of the sound, even as his wand motioned in an easterly direction.

"Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Run!"

Why did that line sound like something out of a book? She didn't really have time to contemplate it because she was soon running for her life once again.


	11. Wargs and Eagles

**Tsamoka - Thank you for your reviews. They have given me a lot to think about. I am not sure how much 'technology' I will be integrating into the future story. A lot of it wouldn't work as middle earth is very much pre-industrial revolution. I am sure she would teach them a few things, but I don't think we will be seeing a widespread age of steam :) **

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**11 | Wargs and Eagles**

The sun had been high up in the sky when the group had started to flee from the mountains. It was now setting, the orange blaze of light hanging just above the horizon while the howls of the wargs echoed from behind. Tracyn could feel the ache in her limbs from the run, they had already made a run for it out of the mountain kingdom of the goblins, and now they had been running through the hours to flee the wargs. She'd been training in endurance for years, could push herself in a run for hours if need be, but even she was finding that this was hard going. Mandalore knows how poor Bombur was coping.

The dwarf was a lot thicker around the middle than his kin, and Tracyn could hear him huffing and puffing somewhere behind her. He might have been fatter than anyone else in the group, but he had a surprising amount of endurance for someone of his size - of course, that could be the adrenaline speaking. Adrenaline could do wondrous things, it could push you far beyond your physical limits. With Bombur, it allowed him to run for longer than he might normally do. She was sure that they would all feel the burn in their muscles when they finally escaped, but once again it all seemed rather problematic.

On their wargs the orcs could easily keep pace with them, and could even outrun them. She had already beaten back two that had tried to cut her off, and she could hear the shriek of other wargs as the blades of the company pierced their skins. A quick push of her legs had her vaulting over a fallen tree that blocked her path, one hand briefly pressing against the top of the log to help continue her momentum over the item. The bark was cool against her skin, a brief reminder that this was all very real, and seconds later she found herself face to face with a warg that had been lying in wait behind the log.

There was nothing she could do to avoid it. She was already in half-leap, and the warg was literally a few short seconds away from her. Tracyn did the only thing she could think of. She ejected the vibroblade from it's holster, and rammed the blade deep into the waiting wargs mouth. The blade bit deep, her momentum causing it to pierce through the skull and causing the warg to bite down on her arm in the brief second before it died. The sound of it's teeth scratching over the layers of her armor accompanied their tumbling, and then there was the sound of a sickening pop. At first Tracyn was confused with what had happened, but then the searing pain hit.

The awkward tangle she was in with the warg had pulled her shoulder from its socket as they hit the ground. It took a huge amount of self-control on her part to not yell out in pain and vomit. The last thing she wanted anyone to know was that she was injured. Gritting her teeth the young woman used her good hand to free herself from the warg, and pushed herself back up into a run. With her injured arm held tightly to her chest, the woman could only hope this would end soon. Only then could she push the joint back into place, but until then she would have to cope with the pain that each jarring footfall caused in her shoulder. The howls of the remaining wargs behind her pushed her onward, through the mass of trees in the forest, and she wondered exactly how many wargs were in the pursuing force. She and the group had already taken more than a few of them, and still more came forward to take their places. From what she could hear there was at least a couple dozen of wargs and their riders, maybe even more!

Just as she thought things couldn't possibly get any worse they did. The trees started to thin, and even in the darkness she could see that the ground suddenly fell away into the darkness. Gandalf, running at the head of the group lifted his staff up high motioning upward toward the trees. "Up into the trees. Climb" his shouting reached even her, and she wondered what the wizard had been smoking. Couldn't he see that climbing the trees would just waylay their demise? It would have been better for them to make a courageous last stand, to die in battle rather than climb up into the trees like cowards. She would have told him thus if Kili hadn't run past her, grabbing at the tunic she wore over her armor, and pulling her in the direction of the nearest tree. The pain of the movement had her grunting in protest, and she knew there was no choice but to take a leap up into the tree. If she didn't she was sure the dwarf would continue in his pressuring, continuing pulling at painful muscles and causing more damage.

So she jumped upward, grabbing the lowest branch and using one leg to pull herself upward. Even with one good arm she still managed to climb up the tree faster than Bilbo had, and he was just about leaping up into the tree when she reached the upper limits of the tree. She wasn't sure where the hobbit had been, but she was glad to see that he was okay. Last thing she needed was for him to vanish on her watch again. Poor guy, for someone that had never seen such horrors he was doing reasonably well. The hobbit was mandokarla in her books. Bilbo was lucky he got into the tree when he did. As soon as he was up into the main bulk of the tree the first warg hit it. The tree trembled slightly and then wavered as more of it's kind jumped against the trunk. Tracyn wasn't sure how long the tree would last against such an assault, it was strong and old enough to hold a few of the company with ease, but against the massive weight of wargs? Already the large creatures had stripped the first few branches off the tree.

"Shab. This is bad"

Her words drew the attention of Bilbo who was in the lower branches, his brows raised in worry as he looked up at her.

"We'll find a way out of this. We have Gandalf. He'll think of something"

The hobbit was trying to reassure her, something she didn't need - especially when it involved the 'wizard'. Tracyn still didn't like the man much, and now she knew what he could do she trusted him even less. She frowned, giving the old man a quick glance. The gray robed man was on the furthest tree from the pack, one hand on the tree and the other holding his cane, and to be honest he looked about as worried by the situation as Bilbo did.

"Yeah. Yeah. I am sure he will"

Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. From the way, Bilbo looked at her he either didn't get that she was being sarcastic, or that he just didn't care that she was being that way. After all Thorin didn't get on with Gandalf either. Perhaps Bilbo just accepted that some members of the party just would not get on with the wizard? Tracyn hoped that was the case. Whatever he really thought the moment was broken by the worrying creaking of the tree, another of its branches falling to the ground. The tree was starting to fall apart, and she could feel it swaying even more than it had before as the roots started to come loose from the soil. With one hand on the bark, she gave one final look to the hobbit, her lips pressed into a fine line of determination.

"As soon as the tree starts to fall get ready to jump. We will make a leap for the next tree on. You think you can do that?"

Bilbo gave a nod though he had a look on his face that said he wasn't sure that he would make the jump. He was the smallest of the group, and the least physically prepared, and he looked like he didn't think he would make it. He didn't say anything about his worries, he just kept his lips pressed tight together and his arms wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Tracyn would have offered to toss him toward the other tree, but she didn't have both hands, and she got the feeling that Bilbo wouldn't accept the offer. The hobbit was still trying to show to Thorin that he was of worth to the trip and that he was worthy of being in the company. She just hoped that need to convince Thorin of his worthiness wouldn't end up killing the hobbit. With one final sickening crack the tree came loose, it's bulk falling slowly at first, and then picking up speed as the final roots came loose and gravity took hold. Loosening her grip slightly, Tracyn adjusted her body, leaning into the angle of the fall and only leaping into the next tree at the last moment.

The jump was good, carrying her into the next tree. The landing, however, was not so good. She hit the aimed for branch square in the torso, causing pain in her already screaming shoulder injury. Tracyn was quite sure she would have fallen if the tree she had landed in wasn't also already angling into its own fall. It was like she had hit the ground instead of a branch high in the air. Biting her lip she used her one good arm to push herself up onto the branch of the tree, and only had a moment to catch her breath before launching herself into the final tree. As a last bastion of hope, it didn't look like much. It was not much thicker than the ones before it, and it was right on the lip of the cliff! The grip it had on the ground was weak at best, and the geology under it didn't look much better either! She couldn't see what the condition of the cliff was like under it, but experience told her to expect the worst and hope for the best. The worst scenario would be that the cliff under the tree would be overhanging the cliffside to some degree, and too much weight would have the whole thing crumbling beneath them. With one final flex of her knees, she launched herself into the tree, feeling that she would have much rather been in the mountains still.

As she hit the trunk of the last tree she felt the sensation of someone grasping the back of her tunic and helping her into the branches. While it hurt she had a much different opinion to the help than she had earlier. Without the help, her grip would not have been as good, and while she wanted to fight she knew she wasn't in any condition to actually do any kind of fighting. As she was lifted up she came face to face with Thorin's grim expression, his dark brows furrowed and his eyes seeming to reflect her own inner feelings. Here was a man of honor, not of cowardice, but she could see that unlike her he knew when to flee - and that time was soon coming. There was nowhere to run to, and if the end was indeed coming then it was best to meet it with drawn blades. Steeling her face against the pain Tracyn pulled herself up beside him with his help. Despite his grim look, she could tell he was pleased to see she had made it unscathed to the tree.

"Thorin. Cyare, I need you to trust me. There is something I must do, it will help ... but you must have no fear for what I am to do."

She knew that at this point there were few options left to her. She would have to use her tech, and she could only hope that it wouldn't drive a wedge between herself and the company. Thorin at least gave her a nod. He trusted her, had done so since the night with the trolls. She hoped her revealing her hidden technology did not make him change his opinion of her. Letting out a breath she adjusted her one good shoulder, angling her pack toward him while keeping her other shoulder angled toward the tree as if using that to support herself.

"I need you to reach in and pull out my helmet. While I prep myself I need you to pass on a message among your men. They will have need to close their eyes and cover their ears when I say so ... you go that?"

A suspicious look crossed his face a moment, head lifting up to watch as Gandalf threw down a smoldering pinecone down toward Bilbo.

"Why? You would use magic like that of our wizard?"

She shook her head, ignoring the detest in his voice - though secretly glad that Thorin distrusted magic as much as she. There was little time for his distrust, and little time to argue about all this. She could already feel the tree swaying worryingly beneath them.

"No. I am not going to use magic. I am going to use something of my culture, but it will be loud and bright ... both things that will confuse our attackers for a time."

He still looked like he thought that she was going to using magic, but he reached past her shoulder anyway. His hot breath on her neck telling her how close he was, and providing a moment of tender closeness between them that soon passed once he pulled back with her helmet. Thorin had not seen the tech before, and he was looking at it with a look of uncertainty and curiosity. Reaching over she took it off him before he had a chance to see the internal components of the helmet, because she was sure he would freak out if he saw the heads up display flickering to life when she pressed an internal button. She was about to put it on when Thorin reached over, pressing his hand to her cheek and trailing a thumb over her skin. His hard expression softened a moment, his dark eyes holding an edge of sadness.

"I want you to know something, in case we don't make it. I ... love you. I wish I had said such things before, but I was a silly dwarf stuck in his ways - we could have had a few months of happiness at least ..."

Tracyn could feel her cheeks warming at his declaration. She knew why he was saying such things. He thought them to die and so he wanted to clear the air so that he could die knowing that nothing had been left unsaid between them. To be honest she had known that he loved her, he had been courting her since Rivendell - not that such a process had been fast. Thorin hadn't seemed to know how to court a woman, that he might not have even had a woman in his life before her, but he'd been sweet in his few attempts at romance. This was the first time he had said the 'L' word, however. Lifting her hand, she rested her hand over his, leaning into the calloused fingers with a low sigh as she enjoyed the contact.

"Thorin. We will have a chance for such things. I've gotten out of worse situations than this before. Just ... trust things will be okay cyar'ika"

"What does that mean? Cyar'ika ... you have such an odd language. I have not heard it's ilk before"

"You never will beyond this company. If we get out of here I will teach you it until then just know that it is a term of endearment ... that I love you too"

A look of contentment crossed his face, and Tracyn felt that this was probably the happiest she had seen him for awhile. It was short lived, however, his eyes glancing past her a moment and seeming to focus on something behind her. The content faded, being replaced with rage and surprise, his mouth hanging open as his eyes filled with an expression that said he had clearly seen something that he had not expected to see. Frowning she too turned around, her eyes following his line of sight and settling upon a large orc sat upon a pale warg. The orc was just as pale as his mount, his white skin traced with dark lines that looked like some kind of body modification, and even at this angle she could see that the orc had lost a hand at some point. The moonlight flashed off the metal of his 'prosthetic' limb as he trailed it around the reigns of his warg. His thin lips parting as he started to speak in a guttural language, and then motioned with his head for the wargs to continue their attack.

Tracyn didn't need Thorin's whispered words to tell her that this was Azog. The pale orc was very much alive. A shout came from above her, and a blazing pine cone flew overhead into the direction of their attackers. She followed it's blazing trail to where it landed in front of the advancing wargs. Flames roaring into life the moment it hit the forest ground, the fire spreading with a speed that said the fire wasn't entirely natural. The thought that Gandalf used magic on the pine cones unsettled her, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Pulling on her helmet she let out a slow breath, only breathing again once the suit was fully vented and sealed. She was back in her own world, the world of quickly flashing symbols and text that told her everything and yet nothing at the same time. It told her of the climate around her, of the heat of the fire, and of the movements of the wargs. It didn't tell her any stats on her foes, however. There was nothing in her databanks about 'wargs' or 'orcs'. It was to be expected, the planet was uncharted and so there would be nothing about it's occupants to be found in any of the galaxy's databanks. The sound of whispered words drifting to her ears told her that Thorin had done his part, and so she reached into her belt and pulled out one of the few flash-bang grenades she still owned.

"Now!"

She wasn't even sure if the message had been passed all the way through the ranks, there was little time to wait. Tracyn threw the grenade, feeling quite satisfied when some of the orcs came over to examine the item ... and promptly took the blunt exploding item. She herself didn't hear or see the explosion, the filters of her helmet had kicked in for a brief moment to protect her eyesight and hearing. However, it was still satisfying to see the results of said explosion. The orcs that had been nearest the grenade where rolling around on the ground with their hands on their ears, the last sight of their wargs catching her eyes as they fled the scene in panic. Even the ones that hadn't been near the explosion looked to be in some distress, their bodies swaying from side to side as they tried to orientate themselves. The only one not showing any effect was Azog. Either he had been too far out of the blast range, or he was more badass than his troops and wasn't showing he was being effected purely as a moral thing. Tracyn could hear his harsh words even from where she was, but he found his troops were not listening - not through any fault of their own. Those nearest the blast likely had burst eardrums, and so couldn't hear. While everyone else was too busy trying to shake off the effects to listen to their leader.

It was a brief-lived respite, already she could see the first signs of recovery, and it was at that point that the tree gave way. The one good arm she had was thrown around the tree branch she was on, and she could feel Thorin's hand on the back of her shoulder. The grip steadying both herself and him. If it wasn't for that she was sure that this would have been the second time she would have fallen out of the tree. From the calls from higher up the now parallel tree, she could tell that someone had fallen. A quick glance told her that it was Ori that had fallen, and he was holding to Dori's leg with a death grip. Tracyn would have gone to help, but found herself distracted as Thorin got to his feet. The grim expression on his face telling her all she needed to know, even before he pulled out his sword and his shield. He was going to fight, and she knew which orc the male had his eyes on. He was going after Azog, and she was not going to stop him. Behind her, she could hear the rest of his company calling after him, but he did not listen and before anyone could reach out to him he was already gone - rushing out to meet his mounted foe. The pair met with a crunch, or rather Thorin met with the warg's teeth with a crunch, the creature's mouth going around his midsection ... perhaps going after a mounted foe was not the brightest idea after all? She gave a growl, pushing herself upward.

"Lady Tracyn"

She ignored the call of Balin from beside her, after all he didn't seem to be moving and damned if she was going to let Thorin die over this. This may be his battle, but Azog had the advantage and she could hear that her love was taking quite a pummeling. By the time she was fully balanced on the branch, the lone dwarf was already laying on the ground motionless. Azog had moved away and had called up another orc to 'finish the job', which seemed rather out of character given as she thought that Azog would have wanted to do the job himself. Either way Tracyn launched herself forward with a loud battle cry, her body hitting the body of the warg rider that had taken up Azog's orders. Her momentum had them both falling off the creature, hitting the ground hard in a tangle of limbs, and instinct had her punching the face of the orc before she even realized she was doing it. The soft flesh gave way easily to the hard metal of her gantlet, and by the amount of blood on the orc's face she could tell that she had badly broken its nose with one such punch.

"Don't you dare touch him"

Each word she spoke was punctuated with a punch, and she finished the sentence by ejecting her vibroblade straight into the creature's forehead. Panting she turned her head and was rather surprised to see Bilbo standing over Thorin's body and fending off the warg. She'd totally forgotten about the orc's mount in her fury at the orc. Pushing herself off the creature she rushed to Bilbo's aid, a movement out of the corner of her eyes telling her that the wargs were once more on the move. Tracyn wondered if she and Bilbo would have to fight this fight alone, but she was wrong as she could hear loud proclamations in khuzdul as the dwarves rushed forth to meet the warg riders. Steel met steel once again, but she wasn't really listening to the sounds. She was too busy wondering how it was that Bilbo had successfully killed the warg before she had arrived, and giving some first aid to Thorin. The leader of the company was fully unconscious, his skin pale and breathing shallow. While Tracyn didn't think the injuries bad enough to warrant the use of the precious bacta she owned, they were still bad enough that she knew there was not much she could do for him in the middle of a battlefield. She was about to tear off a part of her jerkin to make a rag when she felt herself being lifted from the ground by a pair of giant talons. The ground falling away from her as she let out a string of expletives that her father would have been proud of. As shocking as it all was to be suddenly lifted up it was still fascinating to her to see the terrain from above for the first time in years. Not to mention the sensation of falling from the air as the clawed foot let her go, dropping her to the giant eagle that was flying below it.

Tracyn wasn't sure where the eagles had come from, but she bet it had something to do with Gandalf. One by one the company was lifted from the battle scene, and then with one final circle the eagles flew away from the cliff side - leaving the wargs and the blazing cliffside far behind.


	12. First sight of Erebor

**12 | First Sight of Erebor **

The gentle caress of the cool wind drifted over her skin, the sound of calling eagles accompanying the sound of beating wings. They had been flying for a good while now, for how long Tracyn was not sure, but she did at least know that they had put many leagues between themselves and the wargs. A low breath left her as she tangled the fingers of her good arm into the eagle's feathers, her body leaning out to look out over the rest of the eagles. It took a moment for her to spot the eagle that carried Thorin's body. He looked worryingly limp in his eagle's talons, and she could hear the worried calls of his name from the rest of the company. The sooner they landed the better, up here no first aid could be administered ... not even to herself. While there were several methods of relocating a shoulder without the aid of others, she had no stable space to lay down any of her armor. Trying to relocate a joint in full beskar, an enviro suit, and a heavy set of felted wool was not an easy job - especially while on an eagle that had to adjust constantly to the air currents.

Finally, after long hours they reached their destination. Tracyn wasn't exactly sure where they had landed for they were now far beyond the lands she had explored. But any place was a good place when it was far away from their enemies! The eagle she was on slanted his body, and slowly descended from the skies. Coming down from the air to land upon a large outcropping of rock that jutted out of the landscape. As soon as the eagle touched the ground she was moving, her legs swinging over the side of the beast and allowing gravity to pull her off it's back. It felt odd to be on the ground again, her heart plummeting when she realized that she had probably flown for the last time in her life. She turned, watching the eagles leave with a heavy heart while the vast majority of the group rushed to Thorin's side. As for herself she started to pull off the layers of clothing that she wore. The heavy shirt and cloak came first, being lowered to the ground and she heard a low cough from her side - it was Oin! She had thought he had gone to help with Thorin ... but no, here he was right beside her.

"My lady, what are you doing? This is no time for undressing"

She halted, and turned to look at the dwarf. He was giving her an odd look, his eyes traveling over the revealed beskar'gam that she wore. The metal plates painted in bright scarlet and trimmed in deepest ebony. Red to honor her father, and black for justice. Not that Oín would understand the meaning. All he would know would be that he had never seen her armor before, none of them had. She had kept it hidden under layers of clothing, and now she had been forced to show it - a technological marvel in the middle of a middle ages civilization. Hopefully, Oín would not ask too many questions about it. She didn't really know how she would explain beskar, never mind the forging techniques. Her family had been sappers, not forgers, and while she could make a blade out of an ingot. She had no idea how to forge the metal out of its base components. Tracyn let out a sound as she started to pull the first sections of armor free of their moorings. Her eyes still on the group's healer.

"I had a tussle with a warg, and it pulled my shoulder free of its joint. I am going to need to pull this armor off if I am to have a good chance of getting it back in ... in fact now you are here you can help me"

Not that she thought she needed to ask. As soon as she said her shoulder had been dislocated the dwarf was by her side. Taking each plate off her as she handed them to him, and carefully laying them down onto a raised area of rock beside him. As soon as the armor was off Tracyn pulled back the next layer, prying her envirosuit away from her skin, and she knew that Oín could see just from the way he wrinkled his brows. He could see the distended area of skin in her shoulder, and the bruising that was already blossoming under her skin. A low 'tsk' left the dwarf as he moved forward, one hand extending her arm and the other resting on her shoulder. Tracyn knew, without a shadow of a doubt that this would hurt, and she wasn't far wrong either. With one swift move, the dwarf pulled her joint back into place, causing her to swear harshly at the wave of pain that hit her. The pain was a necessity, however. Tracyn knew that the joint needed to be relocated, and so she took deep breaths as the pain slowly ebbed away. During all this Oín continued muttering to himself, giving her a straight-faced look as he did so.

"You and Thorin ... like two damned peas in a pod. No wonder he is so drawn to ya, lass. He never did like all those quiet ladies"

Tracyn rose a brow, trying to determine if the dwarf was complimenting her or not. In the end, she took it as a compliment. Dwarves where a rough sort and she had been around them long enough now to know that harsh words came from a place of endearment. Heck she had called her father a rough old chakaar more than a few times in her time. The word was an insult, but she had always said it out of affection. Thinking of the old man brought a smile to her face, and a sense of bittersweet grief that always accompanied thoughts of her father. She gave a low chuckle and reached over to place a hand on Oín's shoulder, her lips quirked in an amused smile. Tracyn considered telling the older male that Thorin likely never saw any woman in a romantic light before her. Kili had told her enough stories to know that Thorin had thrown himself into work, stewing over his feud with the elves, and thinking on how to get back his kingdom. Women had probably never even entered the equation - at least not until she turned up.

She was broken out of her thoughts as she picked up her love's voice, his baritone drifting from the spot where she had last seen him laying. Thorin was awake and was now walking toward Bilbo. The poor hobbit looked uncertain of himself, his eyes following the movements of the dwarf as he came closer toward him. Perhaps Bilbo had reason to be worried, for Thorin's harsh voice was anything but friendly as he talked to the hobbit.

"You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?"

As he spoke the dwarf moved closer to the hobbit, moving slowly until he was face to face with Bilbo. The poor hobbit really looked quite frightened, and Tracyn started to move toward them. She had every mind to protect her small friend from the dwarf. Bilbo didn't deserve such treatment, especially after helping to save the dwarf! She had almost reached the pair when Thorin spoke once more, causing her to stop as she heard the soft tones creeping into his voice.

"I've never been so wrong in all my life! I am sorry I doubted you."

The dwarf pulled the hobbit into a crushing hug, causing a cheer to erupt among the group. Tracyn found herself smiling at the scene, her good hand on her hip, and only got distracted by the sight of the pair as Oín came over and forced her into a sling. She wasn't sure where he got the material from, and she wasn't going to ask either because she was quite sure the material had come from someone's clothing. Giving the dwarf a nod and a smile she turned back to see that Thorin was no longer hugging Bilbo and was now looking at her, his eyes moving to the arm she now had in a sling. His concern was obvious and he was by her side in short order, rough fingers trailing her bruised skin gently, and even that slight pressure caused her to flinch due to the tenderness of the skin.

"You are injured. When ... how?"

Tracyn gave a slight shrug at the questions as Thorin examined her injured shoulder, then removed his fingers when he realized he was causing her pain. Instead he just lowered his hand, reaching over to take her free hand into his own. She found herself blushing, not used to the public affection when he'd kept such things private between them. While the company knew of their courting it still felt nerve wracking to finally be so open about things. She tried to put to the back of her mind the fact that they were being watched by a bunch of smiling dwarves, and a wolf whistling hobbit.

"Sometime before we reached the cliffside. I had a scuffle with a warg, and that pulled the joint out of the socket"

The grip he had on her hand said that she had distressed him. Not to mention that his face had paled a little. She gripped his hand in return, hoping to calm him somewhat as the last thing she wanted was for him to be fretting over her. Tracyn found that her grip didn't work however, she could still feel the tightness of his fingers around hers, and she soon found herself pulled into the embrace of his warm arms.

"You came to my aid, and you helped my men .. all while you were injured. I admire your toughness, most would have fallen to the wayside in their pain. I owe you so much, and all I can offer you is my gratitude and affection"

Tracyn chuckled, pressing her face into his mass of hair, her good arm pulling him closer to her so that she could relax against him. It was another moment that caused a wave of clapping and catcalling from the rest of the waiting company. For a second Tracyn wondered if they had never seen a couple embrace before, and then realized they probably hadn't given the culture of this world. Displays of affection in public probably didn't happen all that often, and it was Thorin that was showing those affections ... a dwarf that was admittedly a lot older than most where when they started to 'court'. He was late to the game, but then again so was she considering most mandos married in their teens. She chuckled lightly into the light waves of his hair and shifted slightly so she could whisper her next words into his ear.

"That is all I ask. I don't need rewards for saving your ass, especially when I know that you would have done the same for me. Perhaps when we have a moment alone you can show me your gratitude"

Tracyn could have sworn that she felt him shiver against her, and she chuckled as she gently pulled away from Thorin. Now free of him she turned to the rest of the company, one hand on her hip as she saw that they had all been watching. Kili and Fili looked especially pleased with themselves, their young faces painted with broad smiles as they silently mimed kissing gestures. The pair were truly obnoxious at times, and she strode other toward the pair with the intentions of getting them to behave appropriately. The pair only laughed when they spotted the thunderous look on her face. Kili nudged Fili with his elbow and gave her a wide smile.

"Awww why did ya stop? You two look so cute together auntie."

"You guys are going to be the death of me ... seriously ... how many times must I tell you not to call me auntie?"

The pair grinned, very much un-phased by her request. She would have pursued the matter further if she hadn't felt Thorin's hand on her shoulder, a quiet hush falling over the group as each turned to gaze at something in the distance. Tracyn followed their line of sight, her keen eyes catching sight of the single mountain that dominated the landscape in the far distance. The quiet was almost revenant in a way, a quiet that was broken by a thrush flying off in the direction of the mountain. It seemed that the bird had some significance for the dwarves, a few of them muttering about birds returning to the mountains, but it was Thorin that broke the silence.

"Erebor. Our home. We will return, and take it back ... make it as it once was"

Revenant tones filled his voice, a quiet tone that said that it had been too long since he had last seen his home. Tracyn put her frustrations with Kili and Fili aside for a moment, feeling that it would not be right to break the moment with her own petty annoyances. She left the group to it, going back to the pile of her belongings and storing the armor plates she had removed in her bag. Her helmet soon followed, the items carefully layered in her pack so the items she would need most would be right on the top. She was about to swing the item up onto her shoulder when Thorin returned to her side, and gently took the pack off her. His fingers wrapping around the strap and hefting the bag easily onto his back with a low grunt. With the plates of armor in the back, it was sure to be a lot heavier than it really was, and Thorin was giving her a look that said he was surprised by the weight of it.

"What kind of metal is this? It is much heavier than our own"

As he asked the question he made a move to take the nearest route off the mountain, his movements stiff from his own injuries. Oín was giving the dark haired male a concerned look, but he said nothing on the matter - as if he knew better than to tell the stubborn leader to take it easy. Tracyn herself wasn't going to say anything unless she knew her love was suffering badly, especially as he seemed to be doing well enough. She found herself looking down at her arm, examining the revealed flesh that had not long ago been covered in fabric and metal.

"It is Beskar. A heavy ore mined by my culture, and if forged correctly it will protect the wearer from most weapons"

Thorin looked thoughtful as he walked along, and she allowed herself to slip into step beside him. Gandalf was walking along a few paces in front of them, his head turned to follow the conversation, and Tracyn could see that he was concerned. Perhaps he was worried about what she would reveal about her homeworld, and Tracyn didn't care for his worries. The only thing she had hidden from the dwarves was the technology she owned, which she had only done out of worry that they might think it was some kind of sorcery. While Thorin had asked if she would use magic when she talked of her grenade, he had actually not reacted badly when she had used it. Now, far away from the terror of the wargs the dwarf seemed eager to ask questions of her.

"And the thing that you threw? I have heard the men of the east had such toys. Black powder packed in stone casing ... but you used no stone, and I saw no power"

She was surprised by the revelation that grenades in some form already existed in the world - even if they were in the most rudimentary form. Tracyn was pleased, it would mean that she didn't have to explain too much about what a grenade was and how it worked.

"It ... it similar in the basics of it. There is an explosive material, but it is contained in a metal cylinder rather than a stone one. What I used is called a flash-bang ... makes a lot of noise and a bright light. Disorientates your enemy a while and gives 'em a big ole headache. It's not a traditional grenade in terms of explosive payload ... but it's a good thing to have when you get into a fix"

Thorin nodded, seeming to understand what she was saying. He had a thoughtful look on his face, perhaps thinking on how such a tool might be used in the future. Tracyn could see the cogs working in his head as he considered the technology, his eyes looking at her from the corner of his vision every now and then.

"Such a tool will be of great use to defend the halls of my people. Can such a thing be made with our technology?"

It was a question she found easy to answer. Her good hand making slow circular motions in the air as she responded to him.

"No. I can make grenades I am sure ... but the intricate workings of a flash-bang can't be mimicked with what is available on this planet ... however I think I can make something of a similar effect"

He seemed pleased with the response. Even though she would never be able to make something of the scale of her high-tech grenade, she was confident that she would at least be able to make something of use for his people. She felt him lay a hand on her shoulder and the journey descended into quiet as they descended down into the wooded valley at the base of the tall outcropping. There were still many miles to go, but today they had seen their first site of their destination - something that filled their hearts with joy. It put a new fire into the bellies of all, that the terrors they had faced thus far were well worth the dangers that had already been faced.

Tracyn just hoped that the next leg of the journey wouldn't be so bad. If only she knew of the dark depths they would soon descend to and the long weeks that would be wasted in those depths.


	13. Bears and Braids

**13 | Bears and Braids**

A loud sound echoed through the darkening forest, bouncing off trees and pushing deep within the hearts of all those that heard it. It was a sound louder than any warg, louder than any that Tracyn had knowledge of. A low grumbling left her as they continued to shelter within the protective shadows of an outcropping of rocks. Tracyn wanted nothing more then to move, because staying where they were was not the brightest idea - especially if the sound was pursuing them. Leaving was not an option, however. Thorin had sent Bilbo ahead of the group to find out what was pursuing them, and the hobbit had not yet returned. His absence made Tracyn feel more than a little restless. There were so many dangers in the wild, and the hobbit was out there on his own. She wanted to run out there, to make sure that he was okay, but she was sure that any sudden movement would alert the enemy to where the hobbit was. A weight on her arm stopped her from pushing herself up over the ridge again, her eyes moving to catch those of Thorin.

"The hobbit will be fine, worry not ... he will come back shortly"

Luckily for Thorin he was right, Bilbo's form coming down over the ridge not that much later. His face was grim, and it was certain that he had seen something that had worried him. The group was instantly by his side, gathering to find out what he had seen. Tracyn came close enough to hear more of the conversation that was occurring among the gathered group. Gandalf's voice having a grave edge to it as he spoke with the hobbit.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?"

A Bear? Tracyn wasn't sure why Gandalf asked what he did. This didn't look like much like the kind of environment that could support a creature the size of a bear. She lifted a brow, wondering what dangers a bear could pose that could possibly be worse than warg riders. Bilbo frowned and nodded at the question.

"Ye...Yes, but bigger. Much bigger"

The wizard knew about this! Dammit, how did the wizard always know? Why did the wizard always have to know something they did not? She growled, hearing Bofur making the same accusation out loud, and Bofur saying that they should double back. It was a plan that was quickly put to once side by Thorin, the grim-faced male shaking his head at the thought.

"We'll be run down by a pack of Orcs"

Going back was clearly not an option then. Tracyn pretty much agreed with that, they had after all only just put a reasonable distance between themselves and the orc pack. Besides going back would add more distance to their journey, and there was not the time for such a thing. The only way to go was forward, and as always Gandalf seemed to have a 'suggestion' on what they should do.

"There is a house, it's not far from here, where we might take refuge"

The wizard certainly knew a lot about where they were. She turned to glare at the male suspiciously, and she would have crossed her arms if she could have done so. It was as if the old man had planned all this! Of course, he couldn't have really planned all that had happened, but he seemed to have a plan for every eventuality. Thorin was just as skeptical as herself, his face holding a dark expression as he looked at the gray clothed human.

"Whose house? Are they friend or foe?"

"Neither. He will help us or he will kill us."

Great. Just great. Gandalf had a plan and had no idea if that plan would work. He was literally making this up as he went along. While Tracyn herself had done such things, she generally made plans on the fly that she knew would work! She never made plans on the basis of a fifty-fifty chance that it just might turn out okay. But what choice was there? Either stay out here in the wilds and battle with whatever lurked in the shadows or go to the house and battle with its owner ... well, if that owner tried to kill them that is. Thankfully it was Thorin that pointed out that particular problem.

"What choice do we have?"

"None."

why was it that things always had to be difficult? she shook her head slowly, watching as Gandalf made a motion with his staff for them to run. The run took them through the deep and dense forest, and at every turn they could hear the loud call of the beast. The growls echoing through the trees, and bouncing in a disorientating manner. Deep breaths were taken into her lungs, filling her with energy and pushing away the weariness that had settled into her limbs. She knew that she was working well beyond the limits of what her body could handle, especially given that they had little time to replenish that lost energy. They had eaten, but the small snacks that they had managed to eat between those periods just hadn't been filling enough for long miles of running. A loud roar echoed through the trees once more, and with a final burst of energy she broke through the treeline and into the fields beyond. Now free of the cover of the trees she could see the house that they were running toward. It was a large building, it's rustic beauty seeing completely at ease within the circle of bushes that fenced it in.

She would have stopped to get a better look if they were not making a last run toward the building, and a turn of her head revealed what it was that hunted them. The creature looked like a bear, but it was far bigger than any bear she had ever seen. As the dwarves ran to the doorway she turned on her heels, facing the beast and allowing the vibroblade to come free of it's housing. She was fully ready to put a last defense in place, wanting to give the dwarves a few more moments to get the door of the home open. With each moment that passed the bear lumbered closer, and it was just about on top of her when she felt herself pulled into the house. It took a few moments for her eyes to readjust to the darkness of the hut, but once her eyes did adjust she found that it was Gloín that had pulled her into the hut. The auburn haired dwarf had a grim expression on his face as he turned from me, returning to the door where the company was struggling to get the door closed. The bear had forced its maw through the doorway and was trying to force its way in! Tracyn dusted herself down and moved to help, adding her weight to the door. It took a bit of an effort, but after a few long minutes they finally got the door closed and the lock lowered into place. Quiet settled over the group as they slumped into the darkness of the hallway, and then slowly dispersed to find places to rest - most of them settling into a pile of hay in the back of the building.

Tracyn chose a spot that was a bit away from the group, settling into an empty stall which would have housed either a horse or oxen if either had been in the house. She let out a low sound as she settled into the hay, and slowly worked at pulling off the rest of her armor. It had been awhile since she had been fully out of her beskar, and it felt good to be free of the metal - even if it wasn't uncomfortable to wear. Once she was free of the metal she laid back into the hay, her good arm moving behind her to support her head. Tracyn was just about to drop off to sleep when she heard a low cough coming from somewhere near the stall doorway, her eyes cracking open to taking in the shadowy form of Thorin as he stepped into the stall. His movements were slow, and his foot falls planned to be as quiet as possible as he slipped into the area she had chosen to sleep. Once he reached where she lay he lowered himself down into the hay with a weary sigh, his face forming a slight grimace as he used still tender muscles. Tracyn understood how he felt. Now that she was laying down she too felt like she couldn't move much, but somehow she managed to peel herself off the ground and into a seated position beside Thorin.

The darkness in the stall made it hard to fully see his features, but even in the low light she could see that he was nervous. His large fingers reaching out to run over her hair, trailing over her bright auburn locks and lingering over the braids within it. For the first months of her time on middle earth, she had kept her hair fully braided out of habit. As time went on the braids had slowly come out, and now she only had a few left within the mass of her hair. In time, they too would have gone, but for some reason getting rid of all the braids just wasn't an easy process - as if taking them out would remove her fully from her heritage. She watched as he trailed his fingers tenderly through her hair, and wondered what it was that he was thinking. Balin had said that braids had significant meaning for dwarves, that they told of a person's prowess in war and what clans they were in ... in a way they were like the sigils on the shoulder plates of her beskar. A way to tell who was who and where they stood in society. A low sound left the dwarf as he finally broke the comfortable silence between them.

"Your braids ... who gave them to you?"

It was an odd way to start a conversation that was for sure. She tilted her head to look toward him, one brow raised as she tried to make sense of why he would ask who had given her the braids. Perhaps the style of the braid had some kind of meaning that she wasn't aware of? If they did then Thorin definitely wasn't giving her any information, and Balin had been just as vague on the matter. Tracyn shifted slightly so that she could sit back from him a bit, fixing him with a firm expression. Something about his tone had raised her ire, and she always had been one to engage her mouth before her brain had a chance to think through her words.

"What's it matter who gave them to me ...they are just braids, a way to keep hair in one place while wearing a helmet."

Thorin was just as stubborn and hot headed as she was. His eyes narrowing as he looked at her hair suspiciously. Not dropping the matter in the slightest.

"They have a masculine braid style. If you are already being courted then why did you not reveal such information to me"

Oh ... so this was what his sudden grumpiness was all about? She let out a low huff and crossed her arms, giving him an incredulous look. She still didn't know how a braid could be masculine, but she was not going to stand for him making her out to be unfaithful.

"I am not being courted by anyone else ... I haven't the foggiest idea what gave you that idea. I thought braids just told of your skill as a warrior in your culture, and now I find out there is more to it. For kriffs sake, if it makes you feel better then I will happily tell you I did my hair myself. As for it having a male style ... well my father taught me to braid"

The irritated expression on his face faded, and a more content expression took its place. He still seemed nervous, but maybe that had something to do with the fact that she still had an annoyed expression on her face. He lifted his hands in a placating manner, the light of a few dim candles reflecting in his dark eyes as he shifted back slightly from the annoyed female.

"My apologies. It is just that the style looked like that given by a man ... I should have realized that you wouldn't know of the symbolism ... You act so much like a dwarf that I forget that you know nothing of our culture. Especially as Balin said he taught you something of our ways. I just automatically assumed you would know that braids can tell a person's marital status as well as their ability as a warrior"

Understanding suddenly settled itself within Tracyn's senses. Finally getting a full picture of why he had become suddenly so annoyed upon seeing her braids. It all made sense, of course, that someone would braid their hair a certain way to show if they were married or not. It was like repainting your sigils when you married into another clan.

"Balin taught me some things ... but there is much ground yet to be covered, and much to learn. He just hadn't gotten around to it I suppose. It is quite interesting that your people choose to show such status with hair rather than jewelry"

Thorin chuckled, rearranging the thick mass of his hair and then reaching over to gently pull Tracyn in against his side. His warmth encouraging her to relax against him, her eyes half closed in a content manner as he responded to her observations.

"Rings are rarely worn in such a symbolic manner ... it is just not a tradition that has gained any weight among my people."

She let out a low sound, finding amusement in the fact that their peoples were almost the same in that manner. Very few mandos wore rings to show their marital status. As a nation of blacksmiths, it was so easy to get any item that sat proud of the finger caught in something - and losing the finger as a result of such things. Tracyn allowed herself to relax now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up and was almost drifting off to sleep when she felt Thorin trailing his fingers through her hair again. His chin lowering to rest on the top of her head, and she could feel the vibrations of his voice tingling against her scalp - his voice almost a whisper as he broke the quiet which had settled into the home.

"Would you ... let me braid your hair?"

The way he said it told her that the question held a great amount of weight to it. She tilted her head backward slightly so that she could look back at him. In the darkness, she could easily see that he was watching her and that he was still rather nervous. If it had been a bit brighter then she was sure that the male would be blushing, or that's what she suspected he was doing judging by his unsettled nature at that moment. She let out a low thoughtful tone, lifting a hand to run her fingers over the length of his beard thoughtfully.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that my dear. In what manner would you braid it in"

She had an idea what he meant, but it was fun to tease the man until he spit out what he meant in a less vague manner. After all, he could just want to braid her hair to show what had happened in the fight with the wargs. The manner that he moved in showed that she clearly had put the male into a flap, a few grumbling words of Khuzdul leaving him in his frustration. He really wasn't good with women and letting his emotions slip - or that's what she got out of in any way as the male continued his grumbling. After a moment, he seemed to settle again, letting out a breath that ruffled her hair due to the fact that his head was still atop her own.

"Oh ... for Mahals sake ... I'm asking you to be my wife. To give you the braids of my clan ... let people know you are spoken for ... "

He was getting flustered again, she could tell it. A low chuckle left her and she gave a final ruffle of her fingers through the short length of his beard. Perhaps it was lucky for him that she was Mandalorian ... because any other woman might have been put off by his curt proposal. She allowed a part smile play at the corner of her lips, her head making a motion toward where the rest of the group were sleeping in the back of the house.

"Do you need witnesses in your culture? I know most human and near-human cultures put great importance on their ceremonies"

Thorin seemed surprised that she responded to his question with one of her own. She could feel him slumping behind her at her lack of a response, but she couldn't help but feel curious and to find out more. His arms around her loosened a bit, and he shifted back to look at her with a questioning expression as he gave her a rather strained reply.

"For this? No ... asking a woman to marry is a private affair. There is no ceremony, just a giving of blessings by the bride's father ... or by the clan elders. Neither of us has elders in our clans to give blessings, but the company will witness as our elders. But if you have a ceremony in your culture you want to incorporate then we could add it in ... provided you accept"

Tracyn laughed lightly, surprised that there was as little pomp in a dwarven marriage ceremony as there was a Mandalorian one. She gave a small shake of her head, reaching out for his hand and entwining his fingers within her own.

"My people have no ceremony. The vows a couple takes need no witness and are more like a contract than anything else. Heck, you don't even have to take the vows in person. They can be made via any communication method, which is useful given that my culture is a warfaring one."

Thorin had a thoughtful look on his face as if he was trying to wrap his head around the idea of a people that had a ceremony that had no need of witnesses at all. While he was thinking on the matter, she adjusted her hair with her free hand, slowly pulling out the small bands that held together her braids, and then unbraiding the locks. The changing expression on his face was priceless, or what she could see of it from her angled position against his torso. His thoughtful expression becoming a more surprised one, and then a broad smile settled onto his features. When the last braid was finally free she gave a nudge of her head into his jaw, lifting their entwined hands to rest his hand into her wild mane of hair.

"So ... do you accept?"

"I accept"

As soon as she spoke the words she could feel his fingers working tenderly through her hair, her eyes partially closing as she felt the pads of his fingers against her scalp. It had been long years since anyone else had braided her hair, and she'd forgotten how relaxing it was. She could feel his fingers working nimbly through her hair, and it was quite surprising that he could be so deft with his hands. The rhythmic braiding lulling her into a calm and almost meditative state. It was the first moment of quiet they had been able to have for several nights. For once they were not running for something, or fighting something. They could relax and rest, and Tracyn had almost fallen asleep when she felt Thorin's hand on her shoulder - the weight jolting her out of her light doze.

It was clear that he had finished with his work, and she found herself lifting her hand up to pat her palm experimentally over her hair. She could feel the new braids in her hair, one on each side of her head. Each one intricately woven with four strands of hair, and held together with a pair of metal clasps. Tracyn hadn't even noticed him retrieving those and putting them in her hair. Pulling the stands further forward she examined the intricate raised lines in the metal, quite impressed with how a culture with such little technology could make such beautiful detailing. Once she finished her examination she allowed the braids to drop back down onto her head. Her shoulders turning to look back at him with a smile, fingers lifting to his hair and slowly sectioning off a part of his hair. She had no real 'clan' braid of her own to give him, and so her normal style of braiding would have to do. With each twist and turn, she slowly spoke in her own language, knowing that he wouldn't know what was being said. Tracyn would explain after, but right now she didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Mhi solus tone, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde"

With the last word spoken she used one of her hair ties to finish off the braid, her fingers pressing tenderly to the side of his face. There was confusion on his face and she gave the male a sly wink. It was Thorin that spoke first, his fingers tracing the braid she had just given him. There was a satisfied smile on his face, and it was nice to see he appreciated her work even if it was not as neat or as intricate as his own style of braiding.

"What do the words mean?"

"We are one when together, we are one when parted, we will share all, and we will raise warriors. They are the marriage vows of my people ... you don't have to answer them right away"

He reached out, the look on his face one of complete bliss, and she soon found herself pulled into a firm kiss. Thorin was a good kisser, that much she had to admit. Which was a surprise given that he'd not courted anyone before, and she doubted he had kissed anyone before her. As the moments passed the kiss became more passionate, items of clothing being lost to the darkness as the pair lost themselves in one another. It was during that baring of each others bodies that Tracyn helped him with his own vows, his voice gruff in the darkness and her language sounding so odd falling from his lips. His pronunciation wasn't perfect, but that didn't matter as long as the emotions were honest beyond those words. She could hear the love in his voice with each word, and it was the start of a night that neither would soon forget.

They made love long into the night, and by the end of it all they fell asleep in a tangle of limbs with his fur cloak resting over the tops of their bodies. Perhaps if Tracyn had been less tired she might have insisted that they get dressed, but she found her heavy eyes closing before she was able to follow through with that idea. The pleasant warmth from his body pulling her deep into rest sleep.


	14. AUTHORS NOTE

p style="text-align: center;"strongTHIS IS NOT AN UPDATE./strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongI am letting everyone reading this story know that I plan to do a heavy review and edit of this story./strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongThis is a result of some reviews that I got on this story, pointing out some issues with the pacing of the 'relationship' and I now feel the story itself even suffers as a result of me rushing things. I agree with my reviewers, and it took a reread after an extended hiatus for me to see these issues. I am not sure it a revamp will work, or if it would be better to just take the whole thing down and start over so that I can 'add' the extra chapters that need to be added for the missing story elements./strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongIf you guys have any pointers please let me know. I do wish to come back to this story, but only once I have fixed it up so that certain things don't just happen out of thin air. /strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongThank you all for bearing with me in the meantime, I know this wasn't the update you may have wanted, but I hope that by fixing this I will make for a happier reader base for this story. /strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strong~ Mandochk ~/strong/p 


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